Nice Gwynn article

[cressj]

Brewers grab him before Padres can

 

By Kirk Kenney

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

 

June 4, 2003

 

 

 

DON KOHLBAUER / Union-Tribune

Anthony Gwynn and his mother, Alicia, are plugged into the Internet to follow the draft.

 

Anthony Gwynn wouldn't have been surprised to hear his name called early yesterday in the major league baseball draft. Except for one thing: The San Diego State center fielder couldn't get the sound to work on the computer at the family's Poway home.

 

"Mom!"

 

Alicia Gwynn walked through the living room, past a trophy case that included eight Silver Bats and five Gold Gloves from her husband's baseball career, and worked for several minutes to help her son solve the problem.

 

When the 39th pick was announced a few minutes later, he heard what he wanted to hear.

 

"Milwaukee selects . . . Anthony Gwynn."

 

 

 

Local players drafted

 

 

 

 

Gwynn leaned in closer to the computer as the pick was repeated.

 

"When they were reading my name, I didn't really hear it the first time," he said. "It's starting to kick in now. I'm happy to be a Milwaukee Brewer."

 

Gwynn was the third of 15 local prospects selected yesterday, following Stanford outfielder Carlos Quentin (USDHS) and Morse shortstop Adam Jones. Quentin was chosen in the first round by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Jones was taken with a supplemental first-round pick by the Seattle Mariners.

 

The selections included three of Gwynn's SDSU teammates ? second baseman Peter Stonard (Padres, fourth round) and pitchers Mike Moat (White Sox, 19th) and Joe Carque (Diamondbacks, 20th) as 20 of the draft's 50 rounds were completed.

 

Gwynn knew the Yankees, with the 27th pick in the first round, were interested in him. They flew him to Florida for a workout over the weekend. He heard in the hours before the draft that the Cleveland Indians might use the 31st pick to get him. And, if he slipped into the second round, the Brewers or the Padres (with the 41st pick) were waiting.

 

This wasn't something to sit through on an empty stomach. Anthony's mother made breakfast as he waited, with girlfriend Cassandra Wiggins and sister Anisha sitting at a table nearby.

 

"Who would you want to be drafted by now?" asked his mother after the first round had come and gone.

 

"The earlier the better," said Anthony.

 

"You're going to the Pads," she said

 

"I think I'll go to Milwaukee before that," he replied.

 

Within minutes of the selection, Gwynn's cell phone began ringing. Milwaukee Brewers area scout Bruce Seid called. Adviser Tommy Tanzer's office called. And his father called.

 

"Congratulations," said Tony Gwynn, who had been following the draft from his office at San Diego State. He gave his son some space on draft day.

 

"It's his day," said Tony, who thought it might be nice to see his son in a Padres uniform. Then he thought again:

 

"In the big scheme of things, this is probably better. The expectations aren't going to be as high. Not that it's that big of deal to him . . . But he gets a chance to go and do his own thing and not have to worry about the glare of people expecting him to be like me. He's his own player. Going to Milwaukee might be a great thing. I hope it is."

 

Anthony doesn't know much about the Milwaukee organization, but he's already played at Miller Park.

 

"I got to hit in their new field during my dad's last year," he said. "It's a hitter's park and there's a lot of room to run in the outfield."

 

Gwynn's second-round selection fits nicely between his uncle and his father. Chris Gwynn was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round of the 1985 draft. Tony Gwynn was picked by the Padres in the third round of the 1981 draft.

 

Anthony figures to get a substantially larger signing bonus than the $25,000 his father received. Second-round picks in last year's draft averaged $683,000.

 

"Money is really not an issue in my family," said Anthony. "That's not a big issue in me signing. I'm more interested in the opportunity to advance. I want to go play."

[clancyphile]

The interesting thing will be in Anthony Gwynn is doing well as he moves up through the system.

 

I'm thinking he could be valuable trade bait - particularly if the Padres have some players we might want two or three years down the road.

[bjkrautk]

Just thought I'd let people know that Tony Gwynn was on the Dan Patrick Show this afternoon (missed parts of the interview due to bad reception). He was very happy about where his son was drafted (without being too disappointed that he will likely be losing one of the best players on his SD State team), as there will be less pressure in Milwaukee than there would've been in San Diego.

 

He did say that Anthony won't be signing for cheap, although it didn't sound like Tony Sr. would be representing him (unlike Cecil Fielder last year). I don't remember the exact wording, but it was something along the lines of 'you have a number, and they have a number, and the closer those numbers get to eachother, the better; it's OK to be a little bit greedy.'

 

Since he did an in-studio appearence (he's in Bristol for the College World Series), I can also tell you that he was wearing a Milwaukee Brewers cap. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[mothershipconnection]

Yeah, having Anthony go to SD would likely have been a disaster. While we expect him to be a solid hitter, they would expect him to hit .300+ every year and chase .400 a few times like the old man. Think of what it would have been like if we drafted Yount's kid last year, some of us would already be calling him a failure since he didn't crack the starting lineup at 18. Kind of like what's going to happen to Brian Griese who just signed with the team his dad led for years in Miami, that could get ugly real quick if he doesn't perform when Fiedler falls on his face and Griese comes in after 5 games.

[DWoofer]

From Scott Miller at CBS.Sportsline:

 

San Diego had every intention of taking center fielder Anthony Gwynn -- son of you-know-who -- in this week's draft, but Gwynn was snapped up by Milwaukee as the 39th overall pick, just two spots before the Padres were going to grab him. It wasn't going to be a charity pick, either: "First of all, you've got to look at the bloodlines," Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. "He grew up under the same roof as one of the greatest hitters of all time. He's got a tremendous work ethic, he's a great individual, he's willing to learn and he's a great defender -- one of the best defenders in the draft. It's hard to find a center fielder who is a good hitter. His power's not there, but that probably won't be the kind of guy he'll be. Now that he's not with us, I hope he doesn't go out and win eight batting titles -- but I'm not going to bet against it."

[SoCalBrewfan]

I think BA rated him the best defensive player among college draftees...pretty impressive.

[nikip43]

I guess Gwynn could be valueable trade bait, but he could be an even more valueable presence on the Brewers team in the future.

 

Whether he plays center field or in one of the two corner spots, Gwynn has the chance to be a top of the lineup hitter (maybe leadoff?). Though Ive never seen him play, he sort of reminds me of Ichiro. A defensive outfielder without much pop, but good plate discipline, can hit for average, take walks, and be a speedster on the basepaths. While he may not have as many "swings" as Ichiro, his eye has been labled as a key to his success.

 

Gwynn isn't the protopyical corner OF who hits 30+ jacks a year, but may be a great one none the less.

 

It will indeed be interesting to see how he develops, he may be an All Star (maybe better than his dad, it really could happen) or he may not even make it to the majors.

[mothershipconnection]

I have to agree whole-heartedly that his HR numbers will not matter if he's a great average hitter. Look at his dad, look at Ichiro, neither have power, but I would take either of them over ANY outfielder we've had aside from Yount. I'm just not concerned with his lack of power, especially if he's a leadoff or #2 hitter. So many people here though Sanchez was god, and he had about as much raw power as Ben Sheets, so what would it matter that Gwynn won't hit 30 HR?