Gwynn Leaves Quietly

Padre outfielder Tony Gwynn, finding himself mired in controversy and misunderstanding, cleaned out his locker at 9:30 Friday morning, leaving hours before seeing his teammates.

Gwynn refused to comment on the latest development in his troubled season--the team’s announcement it has found the culprit who hung a mutilated doll of Gwynn two weeks ago in the Padre dugout.

Padre President Dick Freeman said that a member of the seven-man ground crew, feeling guilty about the controversy it had created, confessed to the act. The employee will be disciplined, but not fired, according to Bill Wilson, manager of San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The doll was found hanging by a chain, with its arms and feet cut off, before a Sept. 8 game against the Atlanta Braves. Several players, including Gwynn, had suspicions that a Padre player might have been responsible for the act.

“It makes you feel good that it was an outsider, not that it happened, but that it wasn’t one of us,” Manager Greg Riddoch said. “What it does is put people’s minds at ease.”

Said Padre captain Garry Templeton: “I hope the people in San Diego feel better about this, because it turned into a really ugly scene.”

Templeton was among several Padre players who were upset at Gwynn this week after a story in the Times, saying that it was wrong of him to blame the team for the act. But Gwynn never blamed the entire team, saying only that he thought it could be one of his teammates.

“It was just one big misunderstanding,” Riddoch said. “It’ll all blow over.”