In Poway, one of the surrounding counties of San Diego, a statue was unveiled of Padres Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. It was a wonderful event, and the papers here covered it heavily. One of the things his son, former player Tony Gwynn, Jr. said, was how great it was to have his dad watching and filming his basketball games. I remember a few years when I coached youth basketball, and our team played against his. Another Padres player -- Gary Templeton -- also had a son on the…

There are many great things about living in San Diego, but for fans of autograph collecting, one of them is the many opportunities the residents all had to meet Mr. Padre – Tony Gwynn. The Hall of Famer passed away last year, which was heartbreaking for this city; especially since it came on the heels of Mr. Charger – Junior Seau, killing himself.

Gwynn would sign for…

Tony Gwynn and Kasey Kasem had something in common. Both dealt with lots of hits.

I worked in radio a long time, but never met Kasem. I met Gwynn, who passed away the day after Kasem, on several occasions. He was always a class act.

One bit I did on the radio was calling the San Diego Padres and trying to convince them to let me throw out the first pitch. After…