By Jonah Sharf
On August 6, 1999, San Diego Padres and MLB legend Tony Gwynn became a member of one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs—the 3,000 hit club. Only 32 players in the history of the major leagues have reached the impressive mark, the most recent addition being Albert Pujols. “Mr. Padre” is considered one of the greatest contact hitters of all time, with a career batting average of .338. He was a 15-time All-Star and the NL batting champion eight times in his career, which is tied for the most batting titles in NL history, and the NL batting champion’s trophy has been named after him since 2016. Not only was Gwynn one of the best hitters to play the game, he was also considered one of the greatest people and role models in the sports history, and was well-respected for spending his entire 20-year career with the Padres.