Christopher Karlton Gwynn (born October 13, 1964) is a former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
. He is the younger brother of
Hall of Famer
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hit ...
and the uncle of former Major League Baseball outfielder
Tony Gwynn Jr.
Career
The
California Angels drafted Gwynn in the fifth round of the
1982 Major League Baseball Draft. However, Gwynn did not sign with the Angels, opting to attend
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
, where he played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
for the
San Diego State Aztecs baseball
: ''For information on all San Diego State University sports, see San Diego State Aztecs''
The San Diego State Aztecs baseball team is the college baseball program that represents San Diego State University in the National Collegiate Athletic A ...
team. Gwynn played for the
United States national baseball team
The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...
in the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
, winning a silver medal.
Gwynn was drafted by the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
in the first round (tenth overall) of the
1985 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his MLB debut in 1987. While with the Dodgers, Gwynn made the final out in
Dennis Martínez's perfect game
On Sunday, July 28, 1991, Dennis Martínez of the Montreal Expos pitched the 13th perfect game in Major League Baseball history, blanking the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 at Dodger Stadium. A native of Granada, Nicaragua, Martínez became the first pitc ...
on July 28, 1991. After that season, the Dodgers traded Gwynn with minor leaguer Domingo Mota to the
Kansas City Royals for
Todd Benzinger
Todd Eric Benzinger (born February 11, 1963) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played a nine-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1987 to 1995.
Biography
Benzinger was born in Dayton, Kentucky, a ...
. He played two seasons with the
Kansas City Royals (1992–1993). Gwynn signed with the Dodgers as a free agent after the 1993 season, and he played with them in 1994 and 1995. He joined his older brother Tony on the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
for his final season in 1996.
On September 29, 1996, in the final game of the season, Gwynn hit what would prove to be the game-winning, two-run,
pinch-hit
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
in the top of the 11th inning against
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
Chan Ho Park to complete a three-game sweep of the Dodgers and clinch the Padres' second
National League West
The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...
division championship in team history. It was the final regular season
at bat of his career, however he also pinch-hit in each of the first two games of the subsequent Divisional series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, garnering hits in both of those at bats, ending his career on a 3-for-3 streak. Gwynn hit two pinch-hit
walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...
s during his career.
In a 10-year career spanning 599 games, Gwynn posted a .261
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
(263-for-1007) with 119
runs, 17
home runs
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
and 118
RBI. An excellent outfielder playing at all three outfield positions and several games at first base, he committed only one error in 382
total chances
In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...
for a .997
fielding percentage. His only miscue in the majors occurred on September 28, 1993, as a member of the Kansas City Royals against the Cleveland Indians.
Post-playing career
Gwynn became a
scout for the Padres once his playing career ended. In 2011, he was the Director of Player Personnel for the Padres. After the 2011 season, Gwynn became the Director of Player Development for the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
.
He lives in California with his wife JoAnn, his son and his daughter.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynn, Chris
1964 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
San Diego State Aztecs baseball players
Major League Baseball left fielders
Baseball players from Los Angeles
Baseball players from Long Beach, California
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Kansas City Royals players
San Diego Padres players
San Diego Padres scouts
Baseball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Vero Beach Dodgers players
San Antonio Dodgers players
Albuquerque Dukes players
Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in baseball
All-American college baseball players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
Anchorage Glacier Pilots players
Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni