Little Tony a chip off the old block

07/19/2006
SAN FRANCISCO -- He'll always be "Little Tony" to me, running around with my son Raphi at the old Days Inn, just miles from what was then the Padres' Spring Training complex in Yuma, Ariz., back in the 1980s.
They were about 5 years old back then, if that. Big Tony was a young Major Leaguer still developing into one of his era's greatest hitters, a sure Hall of Famer next year in the Class of 2007 when he gets his first shot at it. I was the beat writer for the long gone San Diego Tribune, covering the team.
My wife's name is Alicia, his wife's name is Alisia. They have a daughter, Anisha, who is quite a singer. We have a daughter, Joanna, who is a budding documentary film producer. Raphi graduated from The American University this past May. Little Tony was brought up by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Major Leagues this past Saturday.
"It all hasn't kind of settled in yet," Little Tony said on Wednesday after he smacked his first Major League hit. "It's not real. I'm kind of standing here in disbelief a little bit."
I personally saw the elder Tony pound out about 2,000 of his 3,141 hits, as well as all 33 he had in the postseason. Now I've seen Little Tony get his first big-league hit, a first-pitch, pinch-hit double coming Wednesday off Giants rookie Brian Wilson with two out in the ninth inning at AT&T Park in a 7-6 Brewers loss.
We have come full circle.
"I'm so happy," said Alisia Gwynn, acting every bit the proud momma outside the Brewers clubhouse. "It's so weird. His dad got his first hit, too, on this day. It's amazing, it's just crazy."
His dad wasn't there on Wednesday, but his shadow certainly was. Twenty-four years ago, on July 19, 1982, Big Tony collected his first Major League hit, also a double at what was then San Diego Stadium off Sid Monge, a left-hander then pitching for the Phillies who later would be traded to the Padres.
Big Tony was 22 that day. Little Tony is 22 now. They are both left-handed hitters. Both balls were stung to right field.
May the comparisons only continue to keep rolling as the years start to quickly slip past.
"Tony called me afterwards and said, 'I had a feeling he was going to get it on this day because that's when I got my first hit,'" Alisia said. "He was in a meeting down in San Diego and said he heard about it on the radio."
Alisia, of course, was also in the stands the day her young husband got his first hit: Section 31, Row 4, Seat 9, up on the plaza level on the first-base side. "I still have the ticket stub," she said. "I was eight months pregnant with Little Tony in my stomach."
Little Tony, of course, has heard the story. He has either heard or been part of them all. He was there with his dad at Yankee Stadium in the days before the first game of the 1998 World Series, walking Monument Park at Yankee Stadium during the workout day, sitting next to his father's cubicle in the clubhouse the day Big Tony hit his only World Series home run, off the right-field façade of the hallowed old ballpark.
The day Tony retired in October 2001, the Padres honored him at what is now called Qualcomm Stadium, sending out the greats at each position during his 20 seasons, all played in San Diego. It was Little Tony, who was sent out to center field, a fitting touch. Big Tony moved on to coach the baseball team at his alma mater, San Diego State, a job he still relishes. Little Tony would play for his dad there before the Brewers snatched him in the second round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, one pick before the Padres intended to take him.
And now he's off on his own, trying to separate himself from the old man.
"The guys were giving me a hard time after the hit," Little Tony said. "They told me I only need 3,140 to catch him."
The line drew a few laughs. When I told him that those were the kind of things he'd had have to put up with his entire career, he added: "Pretty much, you know. But that's not a bad thing to have to put up with."
Like father, like son. At that age, there was no nicer kid than the elder Tony. He came to the park every day with such ebullience and glee that it was contagious. That love of the game seemed to last every day he played even after he came to understand that baseball is a grueling business.
Likewise, little Tony, sporting a fuzzy goatee on his chin, is soaking it all in. Three at-bats so far in his brief big-league stint, .333. Good start. His dad hit .338 in his career and won eight National League batting titles. Something to shoot far.
In the end, it was time for big hugs all around, but I've always been that kind of person. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, so to speak. Little Tony, little Raphi. In my mind's eye they are still running around the old Days Inn, perpetually 5 years old.

Source: http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/