Tony Gwynn: How To Hit Inside Outside Pitches, Increase Hitting Power, & Teach Kid To Hit Ball Further | Last Game, Highest Batting Average, Cause Of Death, Hit Chart, & Batting Titles
In this Tony Gwynn thought experiment, discover how to hit inside and outside pitches, increase hitting power, and teach a kid to hit the ball further. Interesting quick facts about Tony Gwynn’s life and career:
- October 7, 2001: Rickey Henderson records 3,000th hit in Tony Gwynn’s final game – Society for American Baseball Research.
- Here’s a great spray chart of Gwynn’s last two years.
- Gwynn died of salivary gland cancer in 2014 at the age of 54 according to Wikipedia.
- Career batting average is: .338 and highest batting average: .394 in the strike shortened year of 1994.
- Height and weight: 5′ 11″, Weight 225 lbs.
- Tony had 8 batting titles in total.
Tony Gwynn Hitting Video, It’s Never Too Late!
Baseball lost one of the hardest working hitters EVER. In this video blog, I want to answer the question of why Tony Gwynn couldn’t hit for repeatable power. I’m keying in on a two interesting points mentioned in an article at Deadspin.com, “How Tony Gwynn Cracked Baseball’s Code And Became A Legend“, after his passing. We’ll talk about:
- How baseball history is made on the inside pitch,
- How the front shoulder is crucial to repeatable power, and
- Why Mr. Padre’s swing didn’t have built-in power.
How Baseball History is Made on the Inside Pitch
The Deadspin.com article mentioned a 1992 All-Star game conversation Tony Gwynn had with Ted Williams about how Williams preached that baseball history was made on the inside pitch. Quoted from the Deadspin article:
“The year before Williams offered his counsel, Gwynn hit .315 on pulled balls; the year after, .587. And in the five years following it, he hit .368, won four batting titles, and made a very serious run at being the first hitter since Williams to hit .400, which he may have done if not for the 1994 strike.”
Increased average, check! But, according to Baseball-Reference.com, over his 20 year career Tony Gwynn only hit over 10 home runs five times in a season. Although, four-out-of-five of those seasons were after the Ted Williams conversation. His career high was 17, in 1997. In the video, I offer an explanation of why it wasn’t too late for Gwynn to develop power after that Williams conversation.
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Front Shoulder Crucial to Repeatable Power
Tony Gwynn photo courtesy: MLB.com
The last point, mentioned in the Deadspin article, was in a conversation George Will had with Tony Gwynn in his book Men At Work, where Gwynn explains – during video analysis of his swing – if he was “staying on the ball”:
To know if he is swinging correctly, he counts the frames from when the pitcher lets go of the ball until his, Gwynn’s, front shoulder “opens up”—turns to the right…There’s one… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… ten… There,” he says with satisfaction at the high count, “ten frames. That means I’m staying on the ball. I’m keeping my front shoulder in and staying back. If I open it up before then, I’m through, I’m out in front.”
How interesting. Mr. Padre may have been ahead of his time here. In the coming swing breakdown, you’ll discover how to not lose the repeatable power opportunity that Tony Gwynn did.
Why Tony Gwynn’s Swing DID NOT Have Power Built-In
Tony Gwynn photo courtesy: MLB.com
What I reveal in the video, is proven human movement science. I’m standing on the shoulders of giants, body workers like Ida Rolf, Judith Aston, Thomas Myers, and Dr. Erik Dalton. I borrow from Dr. Serge Gracovetsky and his theory on Spinal Engine mechanics, and Dr. Kelly Starrett’s work in optimizing human movement.
Nowadays, we have a solid framework for producing power in the body through dynamic movement without having to worry about this hitting theory or that. Here are my top THREE fixes that would have built repeatable power into Tony Gwynn’s already consistent swing:
- Down shoulder angle (spinal engine mechanics)
- Hiding hands from the pitcher (loading springy connective tissue in the torso), and
- Better spine angle at and after contact (pictured to the right, spine is too vertical).
My family’s thoughts and prayers go out to his family. We lost a good hard working man.
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The Other Side of Gwynn’s Legacy: The Contact Blueprint
This post covers what limited Gwynn’s power. The drill card covers what made him impossible to strike out — his barrel-by-zone system, hand discipline, and bat feel. Three drills from Swing Smarter Ch. 3, 9 & 10. Free.
- ✓ Barrel-by-Zone Drill (pitch location adjustment)
- ✓ Feed the Mistake Drill (stops hands from dropping)
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Tony Gwynn Swing — Frequently Asked Questions
Why couldn’t Tony Gwynn hit for power?
Tony Gwynn’s swing had three mechanical limiters that capped his power output: a flat spine angle at contact, hands positioned too close to the body during loading, and a front shoulder that opened early on outside pitches. These choices made him extraordinary at contact. However, they limited how much rotational force could transfer to the barrel. After a 1992 conversation with Ted Williams, Gwynn did increase his pull rate — but the underlying swing mechanics never fully changed.
What did Ted Williams tell Tony Gwynn at the 1992 All-Star Game?
Williams told Gwynn that baseball history is made on the inside pitch — and pushed him to pull the ball more. The results were immediate: Gwynn hit .587 on pulled balls the following year. Over the next five seasons he batted .368 with four batting titles. The advice unlocked more extra-base production, but Gwynn still never became a true power hitter because the mechanical framework of his swing wasn’t built for it.
What was Tony Gwynn’s career batting average and highest single-season average?
Gwynn’s career batting average was .338 across 20 MLB seasons. His single-season high was .394 in the strike-shortened 1994 season — the closest any hitter came to .400 since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. He won 8 NL batting titles in total, more than any National Leaguer since Honus Wagner.
How important is front shoulder position in the Tony Gwynn swing?
Gwynn was meticulous about front shoulder timing. In George Will’s book Men at Work, Gwynn described counting video frames from pitch release to front shoulder opening — he wanted ten frames, indicating he was “staying on the ball.” This discipline gave him elite plate coverage. However, front shoulder timing alone doesn’t create power — the spine angle and loading pattern also need to support force transfer, which is where Gwynn’s swing had built-in limitations.
How did Tony Gwynn prepare for at-bats using video?
Gwynn was one of the first players to systematically study VHS tape of opposing pitchers before each series. He cataloged pitch tendencies, release point variations, and sequencing habits so he could anticipate the pitch before it was thrown. This preparation — combined with his natural barrel control — is what produced his legendary contact rate. His strikeout rate was 4.2% for his career, in an era far less strikeout-heavy than today’s game.
What were the 3 mechanical fixes that would have added power to Tony Gwynn’s swing?
Based on spinal engine mechanics and human movement science, the three changes most likely to have added repeatable power to Gwynn’s swing are: (1) a downward shoulder angle at contact to activate the spinal engine, (2) hiding the hands from the pitcher during load to build elastic tension in the torso’s connective tissue, and (3) a forward spine tilt at and after contact rather than the relatively vertical spine angle visible in his swing film. These adjustments would have increased rotational velocity without sacrificing the contact mechanics that made him elite.
What can youth baseball and softball hitters learn from Tony Gwynn today?
In a game where MLB strikeout rates exceed 22%, Gwynn’s 4.2% career mark is a counter-strategy, not a relic. The three skills at the core of his tony gwynn swing — adjusting barrel path to pitch location, maintaining hand discipline to prevent the hand drop, and developing fingertip bat feel — are teachable at any level. Youth hitters who build these contact skills become the hardest hitters to get out in any lineup, regardless of power output. A free drill card covering all three is available on this site.
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I think you are spot on about the first two points but I think if you had drawn the same lines on Gwynn and Cano on the third video comparison – instead of vertical for Gwynn and angular for Cano – then the differences would have been harder to seem to show. When I look at the two points where you stopped the videos and drew the lines what I see is that Cano continues to have the downward shoulder angle through contact where Gwynn’s lack of shoulder angle is what’s different. At the point of contact, both have squared their hips and gone from a bent to a straight front leg and have a fairly vertical spine over those whole rotated hips but Cano’s shoulder angle is what’s responsible for the improved/more powerful bat path.
You’re absolutely right. And a vertical versus “leaning back” torso at impact could be the cause of being out in front or right on with timing. The shoulder angle at landing is definitely a divergent point for both hitters. Great thoughts!
You will have a good point if ends up with a .338 L-BA or higher and >3,100 hits…
Parker, most of the old timers were very effective using spinal engine mechanics. And many of them did have L-BA’s over .300, and hit 20+ homers per year. The problem is today, we falsely believe power and consistency are unrelated, or that you can only have one or the other. This belief is DEAD wrong.
“Cano ends up.”
??
The spray chart is for Tony JR., the son.
My bad Jason, I should’ve paid closer attention. Link updated.