Ahead of Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game in San Diego, Major League Baseball announced its National League batting award will be named for Padres legend Tony Gwynn, while the American League accolade will be named for Rod Carew.
Padres.com’s Bill Center reported the news.
Gwynn posted a .338 batting average in his career, which spanned from 1982 to 2001. He died of salivary gland cancer at the age of 54 in June 2014.
A longtime Minnesota Twin who later played for the California Angels, Carew made 18 consecutive All-Star teams (1967-1984) and batted .328 in his career. Like Gwynn, he’s a member of the 3,000-hit club.
Renowned sports personality Keith Olbermann weighed in on the announcement:
Given the emphasis on spectacle and power in the modern era, Major League Baseball did well to recognize two throwback players.
The occasion is all the more special because the All-Star Game has returned to San Diego for the first time since 1992. Gwynn’s legacy has been a big focus of the festivities, and a museum in his honor opened in the city Saturday, per SB Nation’s Gaslamp Ball.
Batting titles have always been prestigious, but the achievement will take on a bit more significance because of the association with Gwynn and Carew.
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