Tony Gwynn Photo Match

[Nnunnari]

I've owned this bat for nearly 10 years. It is my favorite Gwynn bat as it shows tremendous use and has perfect Gwynn characterisitcs. I've never been able to photo match a single Gwynn bat I have owned and found it baffling that there were no photos of Tony swinging this bat as it was clearly used for weeks.

Ever since this Beckett magazine was released in August of 1991, I have been trying to track down the bat that Tony was holding as it is a great looking bat, probably one of my most desired Gwynn gamers. Turns out, I think I have owned the bat the entire time. Due to the taped handle, I never tried to match it to any of the bats I already owned.

The fact that Tony removed the tape would explain the noticeable contrast in tar consistency on the mid handle. Pretty amazing to find, what I believe to be, a match of the bat with and without the tape. The previous owner of the bat claimed that Tony was furious when he showed him the bat at a card show and Gwynn demanded to know how he obtained the bat.

I need to buy some high resolution copies of these images so I can blow them up but everything seems to line up. The only slight difference I have noticed is the "3" on the knob in "32 1/2" but I believe that might just be due to the angle of the photo.

I believe these photos were taken when the Pads broke camp in April of '91 as there are not many days/months when players would wear long sleeves in San Diego and this was McGriff's first year with the Padres. Tony went 9-23 in the first 5 games of the '91 season.

If you enjoy seeing some great photo matches, check out the "collector's corner" page on my website below.

[Juan Gris]

Everything looks right to me for it being a match (minus the tape, of course) as the wood grains line-up perfectly where they intersect the different labeling. Awesome photo to find a match!

[dougiedshow]

I agree, the grain, the lettering on the knob, the donut ring, all seem to match perfectly. Good luck finding other images, but I think you've got a pretty clear match.

[Acerrob]

dead on

[Nnunnari]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
The team they were playing against in that photo is wearing red. They played the Reds during the third series of the season at home, it was a chilly 55 degrees those games. I am assuming he used this bat for a minimum of 9-10 games and had at least 10 hits with it.
This is what makes the hobby fun along with meeting some great friends along the way.

[MichaelofSF]

Congrats on finding the match! Great bat Nick

[whoman]

Hey Nick, congratulations on photo matching your Gwynn bat!!
I know I couldn't even try to photo match any of my bats due to how long the process takes.
A job well done. I think in 1990 is when Tony started to buy his own bats so that he could have control of where the bats ended up. I too was a victim of that furious temper Tony had over my 1990 bat.

[Nnunnari]

Thanks Michael & Bill.

Bill- there are probably lots of photos out there of Tony using bats you own, you just can't technically call them photo matches unless you get really lucky. Only took me 9 yrs.
Now someone needs to find that "9 grains of pain" bat he used for the majority of the '94 season when he batted .394.

[tigerdale]

Nick, great bat & great story!! Couldn't be happier for you!!!

[3arod13]

Nick, awesome bat and great match!