News
What's in a name? Gwynn creating own
Outfielder creeping out of father's shadow in San Diego
By Corey Brock / MLB.com
09/03/09 7:59 PM ET
SAN DIEGO -- He was born Anthony Keith Gwynn Jr., though that might be the one name that Padres outfielder Tony Gwynn -- you know, the son of that other Tony Gwynn -- hasn't been called yet.To be sure, Gwynn, who joined the Padres in May after the team traded Jody Gerut to Milwaukee, has heard and gone by many variations of his name during his life.
You think following in the shoes of a Hall of Famer is difficult? Try being named after one.
"As long as it's my name, it really doesn't matter to me what people call me," said Gwynn, who takes a .266 batting average into Friday's game against the Dodgers.
It's a good thing Gwynn is ambivalent about his name, as he's entertained any variation of names as a child, a player at San Diego State and in the Major Leagues.
The easiest, to be sure, is Tony Gwynn, which is what he goes by now. But there's also been Anthony, Little Tony and Little T.
Get all that?
"Other than my father and people who are near my father, no one really calls me Anthony," Gwynn said. "My mom calls me Little Tony, my sister calls me Little Tony, my cousins call me Little T. It's always been a mixture of names."
Former San Diego State baseball coach Jim Dietz, who coached Gwynn as well as his father, took it upon himself to mix things up during Gwynn's freshman year with the Aztecs in 2001.
"It was my first collegiate game and we were in Yuma," Gwynn said. "I didn't really have a bad game, just a game where I didn't get hits. I think that he [Dietz] felt that it would alleviate some pressure if they started calling me Anthony instead of Tony."
So Dietz marched up to the public-address announcer and insisted that Gwynn be called Anthony Gwynn. The name stuck -- sort of.
"I think from that point on, when I started to play in college, the word kind of gets out there and they called me Anthony," Gwynn said. "That's when it started to stick."
Gwynn was fine with that since it replaced the family nickname he was stuck with early on, one that didn't go away until he was 13.
"I probably shouldn't be telling you this," Gwynn said, smiling. "My nickname as a kid was 'Pooh-Pooh.' It was a nickname right up until an age where it wasn't going to fly anymore."
Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
