MLB ALL-STAR GAME

July 10, 2001

Tony Gwynn

Q. Obviously a very special night for you.

TONY GWYNN: Yeah, very special. You know, you had an inkling something was going on, because Bud Selig was really squirming. He was really fighting with something. But until they took that podium out there in the sixth inning, you know, I had no idea. And then you get out there and here come both dugouts -- what a wonderful experience. For me at least it was wonderful. I'm sure Cal feels the same way. I think the thing he was struggling with was whether to do it in the middle of the game, I think. For me, it turned out great, I thought. And I had flashbacks of Boston and Fenway Park with Ted Williams and the All-Century Team. That was a wonderful experience. I hope the fans enjoyed it. I know the players did, or at least they told me they did and were happy to be a part of it. So it was great. It was really great.

TONY GWYNN: Yeah, I was. It was tough. It's the outpouring of love that, I'm sure, Cal and I both received here since we announced we were going to retire at the end of the year was unbelievable. For me -- I understand for Cal, but I have a hard time understanding it for me. When I'm out there playing, I just think about playing and it's nice that people respect the way that you go about your business, the way you play the game and all of that. You know, you just want to say thank you, because it's really the outpouring that's been unbelievable, but I'm sure as we go along, it is going to get tougher.

TONY GWYNN: Yeah, you would love the opportunity, but, you know, I knew coming here I was an honorary member. My biggest thing was I didn't want to take away a spot from somebody who was deserving. And I'm getting pretty close to being healthy again, so I know I'll get back out there on the field. I've had some opportunities to pinch-hit here in the last week. Yeah, you would have loved to have gone up to the plate but this was not the place to do it. Hopefully next week, I'll get an opportunity to swing the bat a couple of times in the game rather than just pinch-hit.

TONY GWYNN: I wasn't surprised. When you think about that moment, you think about what happened there, he stepped in the box, he was getting ready to hit, then he stepped out of the box, called time, thanked the fans for their ovation, and got back in the box and hit the first pitch he saw out of the ballpark and I'm on the opposition team. When he hit that ball, I said, "Oh, wow." There's only a couple of people in this game who could do that, step out, get away from their concentration for a split second, thank the fans for their ovation, get back in there, get their concentration back and hit a 93-mile-per-hour fastball over the left centerfield fence. Valentine was down there and said that it was really unbelievable, and it was. It happened on his night. He's the MVP. You know, storybook story. It was unbelievable. And you're happy for him, because if it was going to happen it should have happened tonight. I hate losing. I still hate losing. I'm on the losing side again for I don't know how many times in a row, but for that moment, that was nice.

TONY GWYNN: Honestly, we were scared because I wasn't sure if he got hit with the blunt end or the jagged edge. He went down and everybody kind of held their breath for a second, but when we saw him laughing on the ground, then everybody in the dugout started laughing, and I mean, really laughing. (Laughter.) Because we knew Tommy was going to ham it up and he was going to take that moment for what it was worth. He came over, joked around, got a standing ovation, came over, went back and got another standing ovation. Honestly, we were glad he was okay, because when the bat cracks like that, it could be a dangerous, dangerous situation.