Looking back at the great career of late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn

Back on Aug. 5, 1999, after the Cardinals' Mark McGwire hit his 500th career home run, reporters gathered around Tony Gwynn's locker in the San Diego Padres clubhouse in Busch Stadium. They wondered how Gwynn was feeling after coming up a hit short of 3,000 for his career. That night, as 45,106 fans watched, Gwynn and McGwire had a chance to become the first players in baseball history to reach a major milestone in the same game. "It would have been fun, but tonight was Mark McGwire's night," Gwynn said. That night was my best memory of covering Gwynn. McGwire's home run and Gwynn's hit were inevitable, so reporters were hoping for a historic twist to the story. Major milestones have never been accomplished in the same game, although the Angels' Rod Carew and the Yankees' Tom Seaver made history on the same day on Aug. 5, 1985. Seaver won his 300th game in Yankee Stadium while Carew notched his 3,000th hit in Anaheim. The Padres won the game 10-3. McGwire hit two home runs, his 500th was a classic towering shot. Gwynn flied to center twice, walked, grounded out and hit a two-run double in the ninth inning. Cardinals fans gave him a huge ovation. He got his 3,000th a few days later when the Padres played in Montreal, a much quieter atmosphere, but historic nonetheless. When Gwynn reached 3,000 on a single to right, first base umpire Kerwin Danley, a teammate at San Diego State, hugged him. The 3,000th hit was also on his mother's birthday. Gwynn died of cancer Monday. A few notes about Tony Gwynn: * Gwynn and Nationals manager Matt Williams were big stories when the players' strike ended the 1994 season on Aug. 11. Gwynn was hitting .394 and had a chance at becoming the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Williams, playing for San Francisco, had 43 home runs in 112 games and could have been on his way to the single-season record. Gwynn hit .426 in his last 29 games with four strikeouts before the strike wiped out the season. * He was a good friend of Hall of Famer Ted Williams and credited his hitting success to reading Williams' book on hitting. Stan Musial, the Cardinals' Hall of Famer, went to San Diego, hoping to see Gwynn get his 3,000th hit. He saw Gwynn's 2,999th hit in St. Louis, but didn't go to Montreal. * Bob Welch is the only pitcher to strike out Gwynn three times in a game. Welch died last week. * Gwynn went 0-for-1 for the National League All-Stars when the 1993 game was played at Camden Yards. Gwynn hit .263 in the Padres' first World Series in 1984 against Detroit and then .500 against the Yankees in 1998. The Padres lost both series. * Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg says Gwynn, his baseball coach at San Diego State, was a father figure to him and helped him deal with the steady stream of publicity and expectations that came his way during his senior season. * His highest strikeout total for a season was 40 in 1988. * Of his 3,141 career hits, 2,378 were singles. He had 543 doubles and struck out 434 times. * He was known for his eight batting titles, but he also had 56 stolen bases in 1987. * Gwynn batted .302 against the Cardinals, his lowest average against any NL team.