Padres get Tony Gwynn Jr. in trade with Brewers

SAN DIEGO (AP) " When Tony Gwynn Jr. got the call that he was coming home to San Diego, it came from Mr. Padre himself.

Tony Gwynn, who spent his entire 20-year Hall of Fame career in San Diego, broke the news to his son that the Padres were acquiring him in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.

"Dad's thrilled," the senior Gwynn told The Associated Press by phone from Albuquerque, N.M., where he's coaching the San Diego State Aztecs in the Mountain West Conference baseball tournament. "This is like a bolt out of the sky. You just didn't expect that. I'm thrilled, just happy he's going to get an opportunity and I think he feels the same way."

Gwynn Jr., an outfielder, was obtained for outfielder Jody Gerut. The younger Gwynn was en route from Portland, Ore., where his Triple-A Nashville team was playing a series against the Padres' affiliate, the Beavers. He was expected to be at Petco Park in time for Thursday night's game against the San Francisco Giants.

He'll wear No. 18. His father's No. 19 is retired.

Tony Gwynn said he had just returned from taking his Aztecs out for some early batting practice when he got a call from his wife, Alicia, that the trade was coming down. He called his brother, Chris, and then Tony Jr.

"I called Anthony because we weren't sure he knew," said Gwynn, who still calls his son by his given name. "I called him and broke the news to him and he was thrilled."

Tony Jr. was eating breakfast in Portland when his dad called. The conversation went something like this:

Dad: "What's going on?

Son: "Nothing."

Dad: "You ain't heard otherwise?"

Son: "Heard about what?"

"Then I told him," Gwynn said. "He was hilarious."

Gwynn said his son called back a few minutes later to say his manager had confirmed the deal.

The Gwynn family got early word "because we have connections," Tony said with a laugh. "I am a Padre still."

Tony Jr., a Brewers draft pick in 2003, has played parts of three seasons in the majors. Last year, he hit .190 in 29 games with the Brewers and spent most of the season at Nashville, where he batted .276 and had 20 stolen bases in 93 games.

The 26-year-old, who bats left-handed like his dad, has appeared in 38 games with Nashville this season, hitting .308 with one home run and nine RBIs. He has a .395 on-base percentage and has stolen 15 bases in 16 attempts.

He's played 33 games in center field, three in left and two in right, the position his father played.

Gerut hit .221 with four home runs and 14 RBIs with San Diego this year.

The elder Gwynn doesn't think his son will feel pressure playing for the Padres. Tony Gwynn was the face of the franchise for years, winning eight NL batting titles and helping the Padres reach two World Series. He finished his career with 3,141 hits and a .338 average.

There's a bronze statue of Gwynn on the grassy knoll beyond the outfield fence and his No. 19 is among the retired numbers displayed on the batter's eye in center field. Plus, when Tony Jr. shows up for work, he'll turn onto Tony Gwynn Drive and then into the players' parking garage.

"He's not worried about. I'm not worried about it. He just got an opportunity to play," said Gwynn, who occasionally does commentary for Padres' TV broadcasts.

"The only way to find out if he can play is to get an opportunity," Gwynn said. "This is an opportunity. He's had a good year so far. It would have been so easy to go to Triple-A and be upset and be mad, but he didn't do that. He went down there and worked."

Gwynn coached his son for one season at San Diego State.

Two years ago almost to the day, Gwynn Jr. played his first game in his hometown as a big leaguer when the Brewers opened a three-game series at Petco Park. He wasn't in the starting lineup that night, but his dad was thrilled nonetheless.

On the second-to-last day of the 2007 season, Tony Jr. helped crush the Padres' playoff hopes. With the Padres one strike away from clinching a postseason berth, he hit a tying, two-out triple off Trevor Hoffman in the ninth inning and the Brewers beat the Padres 4-3 in 11 innings. San Diego lost the next day to set up a wild-card tiebreaker at Colorado, which it lost in 13 innings.

Hoffman, baseball's all-time saves leader, signed with the Brewers in the offseason after an acrimonious split with the Padres.

Tony Gwynn had to quickly shift his focus. His alma mater, SDSU, hasn't been to the postseason since 1991, is trying to win the MWC tournament and an automatic berth in the NCAA regionals. The Aztecs were to play Utah on Thursday night, with the winner advancing to the championship.

"It was a good day so far," Gwynn said. "I just want to continue it tonight, hopefully. The sooner I get home to see him play, the better."