XX Sports Rado: Tony Gwynn (MP3)
- With Mark Sanchez leaving SC, Tony is asked why athletes leave college when coaches tell them that they may not be ready. Tony says the player doesn't think the information they are being given by the coach is accurate because the coach is looking out for the team and they need to find out for themselves if they are ready. Many times the money is too much of a temptation for the athlete.
- Tony says that Strasburg has great potential but he still has much to learn.
- Gwynn believes in being honest with the player. If the player doesn't get drafted in the first 5 rounds they've got to prove themselves.
- When Henderson first walked into the Padres club house he said "Rickey's here! Rickey's here!" His sense of humor was the best part about him, he kept the club loose.
- Gwynn never experienced the difficult side of Henderson.
- Henderson could change the game in so many ways and he was 37 years old when he first came to the Padres.
- Gwynn is happy that his son's team (the Brewers) got a closer in Hoffman.
- Gwynn thinks that Hoffman made a great decision going to the Brewers so he could get a couple more years to play and reach some milestones.
- Gwynn would like to think that great players deserve more respect but it just doesn't happen in the real world. Decisions are made purely on business decisions.
- "I don't think I could play baseball now, with as much scrutiny as the game...that sports in general gets, with the internet, bloggers, with all the other stuff out there."
- Baseball locker rooms are packed now with reporters, there used to be rules against that kind of thing.
- Gwynn thinks it's good for the game and the fans but not for the players.
- "It's a lot more difficult to play than when I played"
- "You've got writers now that are stars"