19 facts about the wonderful career of Gwynn

SAN DIEGO — There’s never a bad time to rehash the insane numbers Tony Gwynn put up during his 20 Hall-of-Fame seasons in San Diego.

But today would have been Gwynn’s 56th birthday, and to commemorate the occasion, we’ve compiled a list of 19 facts about No. 19.

Happy birthday, Mr. Padre.

• The historic 1994 season in which Gwynn batted .394 — the closest anyone has come to hitting .400 since Ted Williams did so — was cut short by the strike. Could Gwynn have reached .400? It’s pure speculation at this point, but he was batting .423/.472/.613 in the second half that year. Gwynn’s .334 career second-half batting average is the third best in the last 50 years.

• Rather famously, Gwynn only struck out three times in a game once — against Bob Welch and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1986. But Gwynn played a pivotal role in that game, nonetheless, singling in the eighth, and scoring the tying run in the 10th after reaching on an error. In fact, he added 37.9 percent to the Padres’ win probability that day.

• At 23 years old, Bryce Harper, arguably the game’s best left-handed hitter right now, already has 23 games with at least three K’s. In 2015 alone, 22 players recorded at least 10 three-strikeout games.

• In his entire 20-year career, Gwynn struck out 434 times — an average of 21.7 K’s per season. Entering play Sunday, 76 different players had already whiffed 22 times in 2016 alone.

• Since Gwynn debuted in 1982, only 46 different hitters have posted a season with a batting average above .350. Gwynn has seven of those seasons, the most of any player in that span.

• Gwynn batted .300 in every season but his rookie year, giving him a record 19 straight seasons …

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