Tony Gwynn was so good at hitting, he once predicted a pitch he'd see and the spot he'd hit it
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All Tony Gwynn did was hit. For 20 seasons with the Padres, Gwynn mashed his way into the record books -- and a spot in Cooperstown -- by raking, all the time.
When you're as good as he was (15 All-Star nods, seven Silver Slugger Awards and eight batting titles), you develop a certain ... sixth sense at the plate. On May 10, 1996, Gwynn's Padres faced the Reds at Riverfront Stadium. It rained a ton that day, causing a stoppage in the top of the seventh inning.
In the clip atop this post from MLB Network's "Mr. Padre," watch then-Padres coach Tim Flannery describe what happened next. Namely, that after the game was suspended, Gwynn told him the pitcher (Derek Lilliquist) would throw him a first-pitch slider when things resumed the following day. He'd hit it into the left-center gap and continue the rally.
You guessed it: That's precisely what happened.
Tony Gwynn was good.