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Wire Taps: Nationals links, Tony Gwynn stories + more

Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn Sr. (5/9/1960 - 6/16/14), 2,440 G, 10,232 PAs, .338/.388/.459.

By Patrick Reddington
Jonathan Daniel


• Tony Gwynn Stories:

• "In two seasons at SDSU, Strasburg morphed from an overlooked, undrafted high school player to the most anticipated pitching prospect ever. Strasburg credited Gwynn for molding him into a professional competitor and for protecting his arm." - "Tony Gwynn was a ‘father figure’ for Stephen Strasburg" - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post

• "Nationals outfielder Scott Hairston was a member of the Padres -- with whom Gwynn played all 20 of his Major League seasons -- from 2007 until late July 2009 and again in 2010." - "Nationals share thoughts on Tony Gwynn, his legacy" - Daniel Popper, nationals.com: News

• "For Gwynn, the thrill was in the pursuit of perfection in a job built around failure. He tried to leave nothing to chance." - "Tony Gwynn’s 2 Hitting Secrets: Work and More Work" - Tyler Kepner, NYTimes.com

• "Watch them try to beat him with the big fastball away, and watch his hands wait, wait, wait and then watch his bat flash, and watch the baseball come off the barrel hard and low and past the third baseman, past the shortstop." - "Thank you, Tony Gwynn, for being a true professional and an even better person" - Tim Brown, Yahoo Sports

• "I never had the chance to see Tony Gwynn play in person, but I always considered him as a sort of West Coast version of my childhood idol, Cal Ripken Jr." - "Current and former Nationals remember Tony Gwynn" - Scott Allen, The Washington Post

• "He finished his major league career with 3,141 hits and a .338 batting average, the highest mark for a hitter since Ted Williams, whose career started in 1939." - "Tony Gwynn's innovation sparked Hall of Fame career, made him Mr. Padres" - Jeff PassanYahoo Sports

• "What he did on the field speaks for itself. He had no peers as far as what he did in the batter's box to be a pure hitter in the era that I saw him." - "Tony Gwynn remembered across MLB clubhouses" - John Schlegel, MLB.com: News

• NATS BEAT:

• "By the advanced metric called Fielding Independent Pitching, which attempts to take a team’s defense out of the equation, the Nationals’ mark of 3.14 in that span is tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the best in baseball." - "Washington Nationals’ starting rotation strikes back" - James Wagner, The Washington Post

• "The Nationals just completed their longest West Coast trip of the season, a 10-day gauntlet that ran them through San Diego, San Francisco and St. Louis." - "State of the Nats: Home sweet home" - Chase Hughes, Nats Insider

• "'It's disappointing,' Rizzo said of Purke. 'He is going to be a year-plus of getting back, but we have been through this before with good results, so we are hoping for the same.'" - "Injuries slowing Nationals' top pitching prospects" - Daniel Popper, nationals.com: News

• "THE key question with Zimmerman at this point is whether putting him back at third base for the rest of this season permanently damages his sholulder to the point where you have crushed your $100M investment which would, presumably, have been safe if he'd simply been allowed to move to LF or first." - "Ask Boswell: Redskins, Nationals and Washington sports" - Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post

• "The Astros, however, have come a long way since April 30, the day they were swept by the Nats. Since that game Houston is 23-20 and has a nucleus of young talent that is beginning to emerge." - "Nats face upstart Astros to begin homestand" - Chase Hughes, Nats Insider

• Your Daily Message from the Dalai Lama on Twitter (@DalaiLama):

• NATIONAL(S) BEAT:

• "A scout who saw [Ryan Zimmerman] play the position on his minor-league assignment said, 'It looked like the weight of the world was off his shoulders.' So, why burden him again?" - "Division-deciding decisions just ahead for Braves, Nationals" - Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports on MSN

• "In a starting rotation with Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez a Doug Fister, Roark has quietly emerged as a very strong back-end starter in D.C." - "Head-to-Head Risers and Fallers: Scooter Gennett, Tanner Roark and More" - Alex Kantecki, Fake Teams

• "Of course, the underwhelming Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals are complicating matters. Neither of the division’s favorites has been able to pull away..." - "Will Phillies, Rays be sellers before deadline?" - Noah Trister, AP/Boston.com

• "The Osceola County Commission unanimously approved the preliminary agreement and gushed with optimism about the venture, which would be built on the site where the county had considered a spring-training home for the Washington Nationals." - "UCF Osceola research center" - Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel

• NATS MINORS:

• "Catching Up On Transactions" - Luke Erickson, NationalsProspects.com

• "[Alec] Keller was selected in the 17th round of the amateur draft by the Washington Nationals on Saturday. He will begin play with the Auburn Doubledays in the short season New York-Penn League." - "PRINCETON: Tiger heading to Washington" - Justin Fell, CentralJersey.com

• "[NC State baseball coach Jay] Johnson said it is still 'up in the air' whether or not [Austin] Byler and/or Wells will sign or return. Byler (6-3, 225), from Peoria, Arizona, was a ninth-round pick by the Washington Nationals." - "Blueberg, Dunatov sign contracts, off to pro careers" - Dan Hinxman, Reno Gazzette-Journal

• Class-A Auburn: "It was another brutal eighth inning for the Doubledays in Batavia. Instead of a seven-run implosion, though, it was a series of hard-luck events." - "Doubledays fall in heartbreaking eighth" - Evan Weston, Auburn Doubledays News

• "In 28 games with Syracuse, Walters carries a .291/.313/.591 slash line with eight doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 24 RBIs." - "Jordan Zimmermann firing strikes, Zach Walters walloping homers: Nationals/Senators organizational glance" - Geoff Morrow, PennLive.com

• Triple-A Syracuse: "The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, lost 5-4 to the Norfolk Tides on Monday night from Harbor Park." - "Tides edge Walters, Chiefs, 5-4" - Syracuse Chiefs News

• NATSTOWN:

• "The idea was called ziMS Foundation. And while it still is run out of the Zimmerman family living room a decade after its conception, the foundation has donated more than $1.5 million to MS research." - "Ryan Zimmerman's MS foundation hosts gala event at Nationals Park" - Daniel Popper, nationals.com: News

• "As usual, the hero of San Juan Hill gets little respect, being featured in just a cameo role." -  "Video: Teddy Roosevelt’s ESPN Sportscenter Ad" - Presidents Race Fan, Let Teddy Win!

• NL EAST UPDATES:

• Phillies: "There was certainly reason for the Braves to be frustrated at the conclusion of Monday night's 6-1, 13-inning loss at Turner Field." - "Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves - June 16, 2014" - Mark Bowman, MLB.com ATL Recap

• Mets: "So what's wrong with the captain, whose average has plummeted to .262?" - "Wright says he's not hurt, just slumping" - Adam Rubin, Mets Blog - ESPN New York

• Braves: "Clearly, it’s time for those who questioned the viability of Gattis as a major league hitter to admit they were dead wrong (though I doubt they will just yet)." - "Gattis to left field not being discussed yet" - David O'Brien, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

• Marlins: "The Miami Marlins finally pulled the trigger on their most pivotal internal move of the 2014 season by promoting Andrew Heaney..." - "Andrew Heaney promotion: Miami Marlins promote Heaney at right time" - Michael Jong, Fish Stripes

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