Tony Gwynn's Countdown to 3000

*Updated thru: 6/16/00

Tony Gwynn's Countdown to ~~3000~~ 4000

Last Game*:
2 for 4

2000 Batting Average:
.312

Career hits to date:
3106

Hits needed to reach 4000:
894

Total hits in 2000
39

-
-

Hit #3000 on:
August 6 vs
Expos in Montreal

San Diego Padres Online by CruiznSD

Tony's Career Stats

Tony's Achievements

All-Time Hits Leaders List

Tony's Hit Parade - San Diego Union-Tribune (7/30/99)

Big Party awaits Tony Gwynn after 3,000 - San Diego Union Tribune (7/29/99)

ESPN - Click here to view a great article in ESPN Magazine on Tony Gwynn (6/2/99)

AP - Click here to view the latest article on Tony Gwynn's quest for hit number 3000. - Associated Press

"I don't want that (3000 hits) to be the main focus this year, but saying that, it probably will be. It would be nice if it happened in San Diego, but wherever it happens, it happens. I'm just hoping it's a nice, clean, crisp hit. But even with 3000 hits, nothing can replace what happened last year. That was the time of my life. Going to the World Series, and accomplishing what we did, was the biggest thrill of my career." - Tony Gwynn in USA Today's Baseball Weekly (January 27-February 2, 1999 edition)

"One thing that interests me is seeing how I respond to the attention when I get close to 3,000. I don't know exactly what to expect... I just know it's going to be very different. I think it'll be exciting for the fans, which will be neat. I've kept them waiting a long time for the moment. I'd really like to get to 3,000 this season. I'd hate to be within 10 or 12 hits, then have to sit around for several months in an easy chair worrying about some kind of freak injury. The other problem is I'd like to do this before our fans, and our final five games are on the road" - Tony Gwynn in the San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday, February 15, 1998 edition)

Gwynn is one of those rare baseball birds who wants to play his entire career in the same city. "Wouldn't it be sad if I had to go after the 3000-hit mark somewhere else?", says Gwynn, 37, who enters the season just 220 hits shy of the coveted plateau. With the Padres linked by lease to Qualcomm Stadium through 1999, Gwynn's fear doesn't seem reasonable. But if the populace fails to vote for a new ballpark sometime this year, the team eventually could be playing elsewhere, according to majority owner John Moores. Gwynn who played baseball and basketball at San Diego State before being drafted by the Padres and the old San Diego Clippers in 1981, is taking the threat seriously. He was one of the few players to attend an off-season public forum on the issue. "Maybe I understand the situation better than some of my teammates," Gwynn says. "I'll take the new stadium anywhere in [San Diego County]. It's better than it being in another state." - Sport Magazine (April 1998)

*April 1, 1998 - Run to your local bookstore and get The Art of Hitting by Tony Gwynn with Roger Vaughan and foreword by Ted Williams (GT Publishing $19.95). Tony Gwynn's "secrets" should put your batting average up near .400 for the season.
Believe it or not, after winning a record-tying eight NL batting titles and raising his lifetime average to .340, Tony Gwynn insists there's still something left for him to prove. Sometime late this season or early the next, Gwynn will get his 3,000th hit. The ideal scenario would be at home in San Diego, a crisp two-hopper between third and shortstop, where Gwynn has slapped so many baseballs the last 16 seasons. "For the type of hitter that I am, that's going to put the stamp of approval on everything I've done, I think," he said. "I think my place in history is already set with these eight batting titles, but for the type of player that I am, 3,000 hits, I think, kind of says, `He was very good at what he did."' - Associated Press (March 16, 1998)

Tony Gwynn's Countdown to 3000 has been accessed times since November 30, 1997

-This site viewed best with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 -

-Please note that this page is in no way affiliated with the San Diego Padres Baseball Club, Major League Baseball and/or Tony Gwynn. This is page was created and is maintained by a devoted fan.