Players' Weekend bats connect Gwynn, current Padres
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SAN DIEGO -- Every chance they get, current Padres players do their best to honor Tony Gwynn. They wear Tony Gwynn shirts during warm-ups, and their clubhouse is adorned with Tony Gwynn quotes.
Naturally, then, they¡¯re celebrating Players¡¯ Weekend by swinging Tony Gwynn bats.
¡°It's an honor for us,¡± left fielder Jurickson Profar said, ¡°to get to honor a legend of the San Diego Padres and baseball in general. It's pretty cool.¡±
Ahead of Players¡¯ Weekend, the handful of Padres who swing Victus bats were each given a uniquely designed bat honoring Gwynn, the beloved Hall of Fame right fielder. That group included Profar, Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth and, of course, Luis Arraez.
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That group took to swinging those bats during batting practice at Coors Field over the weekend.
¡°It means a lot,¡± said Arraez, who has been hailed as the current game¡¯s closest comparison to Gwynn. ¡°It's the Tony Gwynn name on there, and I'm glad I get to use it.¡±
The special bats won't necessarily see game action. Cronenworth says he¡¯s planning to frame his bat and has a spot picked out on the wall for it. Thus, no need to risk a broken bat. Plus, Cronenworth is swinging game bats for a couple charities close to him -- the C4 foundation and the Navy SEAL foundation.
Profar says he¡¯s back to his usual bats after using his customized Curacao bat on Friday night.
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Tony Gwynn Jr., currently the Padres¡¯ radio analyst, can understand that. Who else would understand the relationship between a hitter and his bat better than a Gwynn?
¡°It¡¯s pretty cool, man,¡± Gwynn Jr. said of seeing his father being honored. ¡°I get it, though, if they don¡¯t [want to use them]. Bats are a funny thing, man. I would¡¯ve had to have been convinced. ¡ But I think all of [the Players¡¯ Weekend bats] are sweet. Who would've thought that you'd be able to do so many unique things with a baseball bat? I like the design of all of them, but the Gwynn one specifically is unique.¡±
The bat has a gold handle and a brown barrel. (What else?) One side features ¡°GWYNN¡± in bold lettering with a silhouette of Gwynn tipping his helmet. The other side features his signature and No. 19, with the quote ¡°play hard & have fun.¡±
¡°He's everything for the San Diego Padres,¡± Profar said. ¡°Everywhere you go in the San Diego community, everyone is speaking about Tony Gwynn. He's more than a legend.¡±