The San Diego State University baseball team retired Tony Gwynn’s No. 19 last night prior to their season opener in front of a packed house at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Below is a great video highlighting the special tribute:
Gwynn, a Hall of Famer who spent his entire career with the Padres, passed away last June at the age of 54 after a lengthy battle with salivary gland cancer. He played baseball and basketball at San Diego State University before being drafted by the Padres in 1981. After retiring from MLB following the 2001 season, Gwynn became the head baseball coach at SDSU and held the position for 12 years. This is actually the second time Gwynn has had his number retired by the SDSU baseball program. He wore No. 3 as a player as No. 19 as a coach.
While No. 19 has been retired, the Associated Press notes that SDSU will have a designated player wear the number during one series each season, beginning with senior first baseman Ryan Muno this weekend. That’s a pretty cool way to continue to honor Gwynn over the years.
