SAN DIEGO -- Tony Gwynn could handle a bat like few other major leaguers, whether it was driving the ball through the "5.5 hole" between third base and shortstop or hitting a home run off the facade in Yankee Stadium in the World Series. He was a craftsman at the plate, whose sweet left-handed swing made him one of baseballs greatest hitters. Gwynn loved San Diego. San Diego loved "Mr. Padre" right back. Gwynn, a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest athletes in San Diegos history, died Monday of oral cancer, a disease he attributed to years of chewing tobacco. He was 54. "Our city is a little darker today without him but immeasurably better because of him," Mayor Kevin Faulconer said in a statement. In a rarity in pro sports, Gwynn played his whole career with the Padres, choosing to stay in the city where he was a two-sport star in college, rather than leaving for bigger paychecks elsewhere. His terrific hand-eye co-ordination made him one of the games greatest pure hitters. He had 3,141 hits -- 18th on the all-time list -- a career .338 average and won eight batting titles to tie Honus Wagners NL record. He struck out only 434 times in 9,288 career at-bats. He played in San Diegos only two World Series -- batting a combined .371 -- and was a 15-time All-Star. He had a memorable home run in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series off fellow San Diegan David Wells, and scored the winning run in the 1994 All-Star Game despite a bum knee. Gwynn never hit below .309 in a full season. He spread out his batting titles from 1984, when he batted .351, to 1997, when he hit .372. Gwynn was hitting .394 when a players strike ended the 1994 season, denying him a shot at becoming the first player to hit .400 since San Diego native Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Gwynn befriended Williams and the two loved to talk about hitting. Gwynn steadied Williams when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the 1999 All-Star Game at Bostons Fenway Park. Fellow Hall of Famer Greg Maddux tweeted, "Tony Gwynn was the best pure hitter I ever faced! Condolences to his family." Gwynn was known for his hearty laugh and warm personality. Every day at 4 p.m., Gwynn sat in the Padres dugout and talked baseball or anything else with the media. Tim Flannery, who was teammates with Gwynn on the Padres 1984 World Series team and later was on San Diegos coaching staff, said hell "remember the cackle to his laugh. He was always laughing, always talking, always happy." "The baseball world is going to miss one of the greats, and the world itself is going to miss one of the great men of mankind," said Flannery, the San Francisco Giants third base coach. "He cared so much for other people. He had a work ethic unlike anybody else, and had a childlike demeanour of playing the game just because he loved it so much." Gwynn had been on a medical leave since late March from his job as baseball coach at San Diego State, his alma mater. He died at a hospital in suburban Poway, agent John Boggs said. "He was in a tough battle and the thing I can critique is hes definitely in a better place," Boggs said. "He suffered a lot. He battled. Thats probably the best way I can describe his fight against this illness he had, and he was courageous until the end." Gwynns wife, Alicia, and other family members were at his side when he died, Boggs said. Gwynns son, Tony Jr., was with the Philadelphia Phillies, who later placed him on the bereavement list. "Today I lost my Dad, my best friend and my mentor," Gwynn Jr. tweeted. "Im gonna miss u so much pops. Im gonna do everything in my power to continue to ... Make u proud!" Gwynn had two operations for cancer in his right cheek between August 2010 and February 2012. The second surgery was complicated, with surgeons removing a facial nerve because it was intertwined with a tumour inside his right cheek. They grafted a nerve from Gwynns neck to help him eventually regain facial movement. Gwynn had been in and out of the hospital and had spent time in a rehab facility, Boggs said. "For more than 30 years, Tony Gwynn was a source of universal goodwill in the national pastime, and he will be deeply missed by the many people he touched," Commissioner Bud Selig said. Fans paid their respects by visiting the statue of Gwynn on a grassy knoll just beyond the outfield at Petco Park. Gwynn was last with his San Diego State team on March 25 before beginning a leave of absence. His Aztecs rallied around a Gwynn bobblehead doll they would set near the bat rack during games, winning the Mountain West Conference tournament and advancing to the NCAA regionals. Last week, SDSU announced it was extending Gwynns contract one season. The Aztecs play at Tony Gwynn Stadium, which was built in the mid-1990s with a $4 million donation by then-Padres owner John Moores. Gwynn was born in Los Angeles on May 9, 1960, and attended high school in Long Beach. He was a two-sport star at San Diego State in the late 1970s and early 1980s, playing point guard for the basketball team -- he still holds the game, season and career record for assists -- and in the outfield on the baseball team. Gwynn always wanted to play in the NBA, until realizing during his final year at San Diego State that baseball would be the ticket to the pros. He was drafted by both the Padres (third round) and San Diego Clippers (10th round) on the same day in 1981. After spending parts of just two seasons in the minor leagues, he made his big league debut on July 19, 1982. Gwynn had two hits that night. After Gwynn hit a double, all-time hits leader Pete Rose, who been trailing the play, said to him: "Hey, kid, what are you trying to do, catch me in one night?" In a career full of highlights, Gwynn had his 3,000th hit on Aug. 9, 1999, a first-inning single to right field at Montreals Olympic Stadium. Gwynn retired after the 2001 season and became a volunteer assistant coach at SDSU in 2002. He took over as head coach after that season. He and Cal Ripken Jr. -- who spent his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles -- were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007. "I had no idea that all the things in my career were going to happen," Gwynn said shortly before being inducted. "I sure didnt see it. I just know the good Lord blessed me with ability, blessed me with good eyesight and a good pair of hands, and then I worked at the rest." Gwynn also is survived by a daughter, Anisha. Boggs said services were pending. Air Jordan 1 Homme Pas Cher . The Opening Day starter played 53 games this season hitting .192 with nine home runs and 25 RBI. Red Sox manager John Farrell has decided to start Jose Iglesias at third base as of late instead of Middlebrooks. Air Max 97 Fausse . As if the individual strands of grey hair or the increasing amount of joint pain werent reminders enough, the impending end of Jeters career is a slap-in-the-face indicator of a generations fleeting youth. http://www.pascherbasketnike.fr/france-old-skool-solde.html . -- Keith Aulie has joined the Tampa Bay Lightning. Fausse Air Max 90 Pas Cher . The defending champions’ roller coaster season included trading offensive star Percy Harvin in the midst of the team’s 3-3 start. That move that reportedly irked several Seahawk players, but one management saw necessary to save the team’s chemistry. Vapormax Pas Cher Chine . The South Africa international, who rejoined the club last month on loan from Tottenham, opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a powerful shot into the roof of the net.TORONTO -- Marcus Stroman deserved better than this. The rookie right-hander took a one-hitter into the seventh inning on Saturday only to have the game fall apart for him and the Toronto Blue Jays on one swing. When the first pitch from reliever Dustin McGowan was sent into the left-field seats by right-fielder Dayan Viciedo, the Chicago White Sox were on the way to a 4-3 victory on Saturday. "Its tough to deal with," Stroman said. "Its part of baseball. I have 100 per cent faith in Dustin to come in and get that out every time. If he makes a pitch like he knows he can, were not even having this conversation." Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said he had his reasons for removing Stroman when he did. "If you could do things over, you leave him in," Gibbons said. "But my thinking was, he pitched his butt off, it was kind of uncharted territory, I dont want him to lose the game right there. Thats the way it goes. But you always look back on things like that. I had a plan and it just didnt work." The Blue Jays scored one run in the ninth inning as their late rally fell short for the second game in a row. White Sox left-hander Chris Sale (7-1) also pitched well, holding the Blue Jays to four hits and five walks while striking out six to pick up his first career win in three decisions against Toronto. "They wore him down a bit," said Chicago manager Robin Ventura. "They were fighting off some tough pitches." The only runs Sale allowed came on a two-run homer by right-fielder Darin Mastroianni in the fourth. Stroman was strong over 6 2/3 innings, allowing two hits, two walks and two runs while striking out six. He did not factor in the decision in his sixth career major-league start. "Stroman, he was great tonight," Sale said. "He threw better than I did. Obviously, you throw like that, you deserve to win a game." Stroman allowed a second-inning double to White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn and then walked him to lead off the fifth and nothing more through six innings. But in the seventh inning, White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu doubled with two out to extend his career-best hitting streak to 13 games and Dunn walked for the second time in the game. McGowan (4-3) came in from the bullpen and his first-pitch slider was launched over the fence by Viciedo for his eighth homer of the season and a 3-2 Chicago lead. "Its tough because obviously I want to be out there," Stroman said. "I felt strong but Im also a young so that was Gibbys choice. Dustin has been great for us all year so its not like I was mad about coming out of the game. "I had 100 per cent confidence for Dustin to come in and get that out. Just one of those things and Im sure hell be right back to it." Gibbons disscussed the weight of his decision after the loss.dddddddddddd "This game eats at you, you review everything, you do more so at the moment of something," Gibbons said. "You get a little gun shy around this place, the way the ball has been flying out of here, especially after (Friday) night (when the teams combined for seven home runs)." The White Sox added a run in the eighth on a single by pinch hitter Alexei Ramirez against reliever Aaron Loup. The left-hander replaced McGowan after two-out singles by centre-fielder Adam Eaton and second baseman Gordon Beckham. Chicago loaded the bases in the ninth with none out against Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen but could not score. The White Sox (38-44) have won two in a row over the Blue Jays (45-3 to assure themselves of a split in the four-game series. Right-hander Zach Putnam who got the final out of the eighth stayed in the game for the ninth and allowed a leadoff double by pinch hitter Anthony Gose. Second baseman Munenori Kawasaki singled him home to cut the lead to one but Putnam held firm to earn his first save of the season. It was a disappointing result for Stroman who was coming off a strong win over the New York Yankees last Tuesday when he allowed three hits and one run in eight innings. It looked like his day when the Blue Jays took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. It came from an unexpected source. Mastroianni, just called up from triple-A Buffalo where he has been most of the season, snapped a 0-for-14 streak to open this season in the majors by taking a 3-2 change-up to left for a two-run homer. It was his fourth career homer in the majors with the first three coming with the Minnesota Twins in 2012. It came after Colby Rasmus took a two-out walk. "Its important for me," Mastroianni said. "I want to try to help keep this team is in first place. a (Sale) just has stuff going everywhere, arms flying everywhere, he throws that change-up and then all of a sudden here comes 95. "He threw me a lot of change-ups that at-bat. He probably made a bit of a mistake, left that ball up over the plate more than I know he would have liked to." NOTES: Announced attendance at Rogers Centre was 39,623. aBefore the game on Saturday the Blue Jays recalled outfielder Darin Mastroianni from triple-A Buffalo, where he was batting .289 with four homers in 69 games, and returned LHP Rob Rasmussen on option to the Bisons. Mastroianni started in right field. a Left-hander Mark Buehrle (10-4) will start the series finale on Sunday for the Blue Jays against his former team. The White Sox will start left-hander Jose Quintana (4-7, 3.69). aThe Blue Jays have Monday off before they complete the home stand with two afternoon games against the Milwaukee Brewers. ' ' '