It appears Tony Gwynn couldn't stay away for too long. The Former Padre great and Major League All-Star has joined a group of investors in their bid to buy his old team, the San Diego Padres.
Gwynn will join movie producer Thomas Tull, the chairman and CEO of Legendary Entertainment, in attempt to gain ownership of the franchise.
Gwynn is currently the head baseball coach at his alma mater, San Diego State. He said that when the Padres went on sale, he thought someone might try to reach out to fim.
"I'm throwing my hat in with Thomas. I think he's the right guy," Gwynn told reporters after his Aztecs practiced on Monday. "I'm the coach at San Diego State and plan on continuing doing that. But I really liked what he had to say. I'm excited. And believe me, it takes a lot to get me excited. He definitely has some ideas about what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. The biggest thing is, he wants to win. He ain't getting this to say he has the club. He wants to win."
Gwynn's role in the bid is still undetermined, but he will surely act upon his experience as a Padre player. Gwynn played his entire 20-season career with the Padres. During that time he accumulated 3,141 hits, won eight NL batting titles and was a career .338 hitter. His number is retired by Padres and Petco Park is located on Tony Gwynn Drive.
The Padres are currently owned by John Moores, the majority owner, and Jeff Moorad. In 2009, Moorad formed a group that agreed to a gradual takeover of the team. The proposal was shut down when baseball owners refused to allow Moorad to take over as controlling owner.
That deal was estimated to cost $500 million. With the recent selling of the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2 billion plus a new TV deal with Fox for Padres games, this upcoming sale could be worth far more than that.
The Padres could use an infusion of life to the team. Since winning the NL West in 2005 and 2006, the Padres have not been to the playoffs and lost 99, 87 and 91 games in 2008, 2009 and 2011 respectively.
