The San Diego Padres announced that Hall of Fame outfielder Tony Gwynn died on Monday at age 54. The eight-time National League batting champion affectionally known as "Mr. Padre" after spending his entire 20-year career in San Diego had been battling salivary gland cancer since 2009, according to MLB.com.
After Gwynn's death was announced, many in baseball expressed their condolences for Gwynn's family as well as admiration for his legendary career.
A third-round draft pick of the Padres in 1981, Gwynn established himself as one of the game's best hitters with his metronomic left-handed swing. While racking up 3,141 career hits, Gwynn helped the Padres to their only two World Series appearances (1984, 1998). He retired with a .338 career batting average after the 2001 season and was inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown in 2007 alongside Cal Ripken Jr., another rare one-team star.
"For more than 30 years, Tony Gwynn was a source of universal goodwill in the national pastime, and he will be deeply missed by the many people he touched," MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement issued on Monday.
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