RetroSimba

In a showdown of future Hall of Famers, the Padres’ Tony Gwynn prevailed against the Cardinals’ Dennis Eckersley.

On June 10, 1997, at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium, Gwynn hit doubles in the first and third innings off Cardinals starter Todd Stottlemyre, helping the Padres to a 3-1 lead and extending his hitting streak to 20 games.

In the ninth, the Cardinals scored four runs off closer Trevor Hoffman for a 5-3 lead.

Eckersley was brought in by Cardinals manager Tony La Russa to try for the save. Eckersley and Hoffman ranked among the best closers all-time. What were the odds of both blowing leads in the same inning?

The first batter Eckersley faced, Chris Gomez, singled. With one out, Greg Vaughn also singled. After Eckersley retired Rickey Henderson on a fly out, Gwynn stepped to the plate.

La Russa positioned his outfielders to play deep, near the warning track, willing to concede a single rather than a score-tying extra-base hit.

From the batter’s box, Gwynn searched for holes in the defense. “He was looking out there (to left-center),” Eckersley told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Gwynn sliced a line drive between left fielder Willie McGee and center fielder Ray Lankford. Gomez and Vaughn raced home, tying the score at 5-5.

Gwynn reached second with his career-best third double of the game.

San Diego scored in the 12th and won, 6-5.

“I’m sure Eck would want that pitch back to Gwynn,” La Russa said. “He didn’t get it where he was trying to get it. With a single, we’ve still got a chance, but he hit right where he was trying to hit it. That’s what a Hall of Famer does.”

Said Eckersley: “I just couldn’t get the ball down. Even if it was down, he would have hit a bullet anyway.”

Including the postseason, Gwynn hit .474 (9-for-19) against Eckersley in his career.

“I think people tick (Gwynn) off when they say he can’t drive in runs,” Lankford said. “I think he can do just about anything he wants to do.” Boxscore

Gwynn, 37, enjoyed his most productive season in 1997. He hit .372, earning the last of his eight National League batting titles, and had single-season career highs in hits (220), doubles (49), home runs (17) and RBI (119).

Two years earlier, Ted Williams, the last big-leaguer to hit .400 in a season, advised Gwynn to turn on the inside pitch and drive it, according to the book “Bob Chandler’s Tales from the Padres Dugout.”

Initially reluctant to alter his approach, Gwynn tried Williams’ suggestion in 1997.

“In late June, I hit three home runs over a four-game span by turning on the inside pitch and driving it over the wall,” Gwynn said. “From that time on, I noticed pitchers stopped throwing inside to me and I was able to hit the ball all over. Finally, I understood what Ted meant.”

Three other big performances by Gwynn versus the Cardinals:

_ July 15, 1988: Gwynn had three hits and four RBI, including a two-run single off reliever Ken Dayley in the ninth, lifting the Padres to a 7-3 victory at St. Louis. Boxscore

_ April 18, 1993: In producing five hits in five at-bats in the Padres’ 10-6 triumph at San Diego, Gwynn had three singles off starter Donovan Osborne, a single off Mike Perez and a two-run home run off Omar Olivares. Boxscore

_ Aug. 4, 1999: Gwynn, 39, hit a grand slam off starter Kent Mercker, but the Cardinals won, 7-6, at St. Louis. The grand slam was the third and last of Gwynn’s big-league career. Boxscore