Tony Gwynn believed in hard work, doing things right and doing things with a sense of grace.

I think he enjoyed coaching because of the personal connections that are made. College is still real life. College is more about family than pro ball. In pro ball there is no sense of a family until you get to the big leagues. Everyone is out there for their own in minor leagues.

I have a memory from my childhood.

It was at the MLB All-Star Game when he scored the winning run. After the game we were at a round table and I had the opportunity to listen in on the most amazing conversation.

It was a table full of the best In the game: (Barry) Bonds, (Barry) Larkin, (Curt) Schilling and Gwynn. And they were talking to each other about how they approach one-another while they are hitting and pitching. I was 15 or 16 years old.

I think he had such a pride in San Diego because of the circumstances on how God played out his plan.

He played at SDSU, he was drafted by the Padres and was able to stay in San Diego for his entire career, which is incredible.

It is crazy to hear stories about dad after he passed that even I did not know about.

I think that exemplifies who he was more than anything.

The fact that he did not do things for the publicity. If anything he preferred that it wasn’t known.

I am his son and did not know about any of the amazing stories that are told about him that surfaced after he had passed.