Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn Undergoes Surgery

Hall of Fame baseball player Tony Gwynn underwent 14 hours of surgery Tuesday to remove a malignant tumor from his cheek.

According to various reports out of San Diego, Gwynn had a malignant tumor from the inside of his mouth removed as part of a complex nerve-graft procedure. He came out of surgery around 1 a.m. this morning and has already been speaking to family members, doctors and media.

There is no timetable on when he plans to return to broadcast booth or San Diego State, where he is currently the university’s baseball coach.

“Tony and I have been in continuous communication and I feel comfortable that the program is in great hands with Mark Martinez and Eric Valenzuela during while Tony is recovering from surgery,” SDSU AD Jim Sterk said in a statement. “Tony has been feeling great and is enthusiastic about coaching. He sees this as a temporary setback and we look forward to having him back in the dugout when he is ready.”

I was lucky enough to sit down with Gwynn a few years back during the preseason, where we discussed everything from his Hall of Fame induction to the absence of Mark McGwire in the Cooperstown:

Q: What does being elected for the Hall of Fame mean to you?

A: Vindication is the word for me. I was a singles hitter, so I didn’t get a whole lot of love early in my career. I just tried to put up the best numbers I could for the first 10 years.

I had a chance tomeet with Ted Williams and that had a huge impact on the rest of my career. Ten years later I’m getting recognized for being consistent and there’s talk I’m going into the Hall even though I only hit 135 home runs. … It’s rewarding to know I did the job well enough to be considered and to go in has really just blown me away. Words can’t describe how it feels.

Q: How does life as a college coach compare to playing in the majors?

A: I’ve never been a spotlight guy. When my career was over, I enjoyed going into the college game and becoming a normal guy again. But when you go to North Carolina State, Texas, Oklahoma State and places you’ve never been, that past catches up with you. Add the Hall of Fame thing and that adds to it too. I thought nothing would top playing in the big leagues, but the last couple weeks, I’ll tell you what. Never in my wildest dreams did I think something like this could happen and then shoot it to another level. I’m enjoying this ride, but at the same time I’m looking forward to getting it over and getting back to normal.

Q: Has it been tough juggling that attention with your coaching responsibilities at San Diego State?

A: Yeah, it has. When you go in the Hall of Fame, that’s all you can do. I have another life that I truly enjoy. For me, coaching at the college level has been more satisfying than playing in some aspects. Back then, the only thing I had to worry about was me. Now I have 37 guys to worry about. Like right now, what I’m worried about is hunting down a DVD player for the bus. …Alot of people were surprised when I went to the college game to begin with and they’re surprised I’m still here, but I enjoy it. My motor runs at a different RPM than the other guys. I’ve come to grips with my playing career being over, and I love what I’m doing right now.

Q: Can you compare the state of the college game with the state of the professional game?

A: The college level continues to get better and better. We’re getting more notoriety than we’ve ever gotten. To be on the ground floor of that is really exciting, especially out here on the West Coast where, whoa, it’s competitive as heck and we’re all in the same boat. Now we have to get to a regional to validate what we’re doing.

The professional game is a little bit different. The scrutiny for pro baseball is making it a little bit difficult on people. There’s more games on TV. More people are playing. I think they can do a better job ofmarketing the guys that play it. … Right now, I don’t know how much trust is going on with players being suspended for this and that, which I think is good. One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that this is the people’s game. We need to do a better job of recognizing the fans, focusing on the game stuff instead of all that other stuff that’s surrounding it. That’s how the game gets better because the game has flourished, salaries are through the roof, but we have to do a better job with the fans.

Q: Were you surprised Mark McGwire wasn’t elected the first time around?

A: I’m not surprised. I think he’s a Hall of Famer, but I’m a player. I look at what the guy did on the field. I don’t know what happened in his personal life. All I know is that when I was in right field, and he extended those arms, he hit the ball a mile.

When I retired, I was hoping we could all go in together. I knew there was some question with (Jose) Canseco and (Ken) Caminiti. The good thing for Mark is that he got enough votes to be on the ballot next year. But in the next 10 to 12 years, there’s going to be some guys on the ballot who are question marks and that’s going to be in the hands of the writers.

Q: As an ambassador of the game, what are some of the messages you try to pass on to the next generation of ballplayers?

A: Like most people, I was a fan to begin with. I listened to Vin Scully every night, knew all the ballplayers, their stats and all of that. I always made sure to show my respect to the guys before me. I’m about the game and giving back what a lot of those guys passed on to me. That’s the most important thing you can do, give these younger players what they need to know to be better.

That’s why coaching at the college level is so fun. Players are always asking me about stuff in the big league game. You can see in their eyes how much they love playing the game. You are able to put them in a position where they can influence people’s lives, and I take that very seriously.