Gwynn Gets New Deal With Padres

Tony Gwynn, probably the best pure hitter of his time, will remain a Padre at least until he’s 40.

The seven-time National League batting champion, who has been with the Padres his entire major league career, received a $12.6-million, three-year contract extension through 2000 on Saturday.

Gwynn was in the final year of a two-year extension that included a Padre option for 1998. The Padres exercised that option and added two years. He’ll earn $4 million in 1998 and $4.3 million in 1999 and 2000.

Gwynn wasn’t immediately available for comment, but said through the team, “I love San Diego and I love this organization and this is where I’ve always wanted to be.”

Extending Gwynn’s contract was important enough that owner John Moores and President Larry Lucchino assisted General Manager Kevin Towers in the negotiations, which began March 24.

“It’s important to me personally, it’s important to Tony and I think it’s important to the baseball fans of San Diego,” Moores said.

“I can’t think of anybody like Tony in American sports,” Moores added. “He’s a guy that has been at the pinnacle and has stayed in one city for his own private reasons. He has been incredibly loyal to his fans and I’m terribly pleased that now we have a chance to return that loyalty and guarantee that he’s going to be there through the year 2000.”

Even though the previous ownership gutted the team for financial reasons in 1993, Gwynn didn’t asked to be traded, and suffered through some incredibly poor seasons. He has been with the Padres since the middle of the 1982 season, and is their only holdover from their 1984 World Series team.