European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 17, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday. August 17. 1987 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary will anyone notice if Gwynn hits .400? at this year s All Star game one Guy was iced Oft because he did t make the squad another because he made the team but Only got used As a Pinch Hitler. Others brought notes from Ihei doctors 10 gel out of going. Tony Gwynn did l make a Peep but he probably should have been busting up the clubhouse with a Bat pulling sinks off the Wall kicking Waier coolers throwing Ham sandwiches onto Ceil Ings. All Tony Gwynn was doing on the eve of the All Star break was Bai Ting .370, leading inc league scoring runs stealing has throwing out runners doing everything an All Star starter is meant to do. And More than a month later he s still hitting .370. When last seen Tony Gwynn was gel Ling just a few More votes than the Bat boy. He was seventh vote getter in a league where he was batting 35 to 60 Points higher than anyone who was out polling him Tony Gwynn he Gol in the game Only As a Pinch Hitler one Quick Spicl in the Twilight of Oakland coliseum and Back to the dugout Well maybe this was just a one time Flash in the pan performance like so Many players maybe Tony was just putting together an Over his had sea son hardly Tony Gwynn is one of the Best strikers of inc baseball in the game today. Maybe Ever. He won the baiting championship Only three years ago with a Gaudy .351, and Tony Gwynn has never batted under .300 in any full season in hit career. Tony s problem is. He plays in san Dirgo. Now san Diego is a Nice place if you re he rap in of a aircraft Carrier or a Petty officer second class or the mayor. When a not in Nice is when you Lake the Field in that Taco coloured uniform of the san Diego padres who arc to baseball what inc Selter Siphon is to burlesque. Tony is like san Dirge sunny. 7i degrees barometer Slady wind out of inc Southwest at no More than 5 Mph. And tomorrow More of the same Tony too has one of the Besl climates in the world. Tony would get More attention if he were a pin Loon player in new York. He might gel More alien  if he were a lamp Post in new York. Tony Gwynn set olt this year As if he mag lit find that holy grail of baseball the .400 year. Hut just As he began to  up the season spraying base hits to All Fields Healing Oul infield choppers muscling up for the occasional Long Ball thai character in Boston Wade Boggs usually managed to keep 10 base hit and 5 Points ahead of him. As Sparky an Derson Points out it s an annoying habit Boggs Lias. Its the Story of Tony Gwynn s life. The padres finally win a Pennant in 1984? Gwynn hits .351? forge it. Steve Garvey wins the  with a Home run in most people s memory Bank. Does any of this bother Tony Gwynn nol Likely. Tony just smiles. Look baseball fans like Home runs he explains. They like rats they like big Hils. Thai s what they pay to  Tony s Hils May not be big. Bui there arc 200 of them a season. Laid end to end they might tend to get pretty big you would imagine. Two out of inc last three years Tony has led the league in Hils. Last year he tied for inc Lead in runs. I kind of Pullie Ball in play says Jinn shrugging. Well of course so did to cob. And in san die go s Jack Murphy so iridium which is not comic Fly a Sandbox it s a Good thing to be Able to do. Can he put inc Ball in play enough to hit .400a Loi of people around the league to link. If anyone can. Tony Gwynn can. First of All there s the tempera Mem. Of Wynn s Una capability Lack of mood swings Matler of of dict acceptance of what he s pitched make him a scrip us candidate. Tony will not stari to gel