SAN DIEGO -- There were two certainties about Tony Gwynn: He could hit a baseball like few other major leaguers, and he was going to laugh. Steph Curry Shoes Outlet . Gwynn was a craftsman at the plate, whose sweet left-handed swing made him one of baseballs greatest hitters. The Hall of Famer died Monday of oral cancer, a disease he attributed to years of chewing tobacco. He was 54. Any knowledgeable fan can recite Gwynns key stats. 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. There was far more to the man. 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 college star rather than leaving for bigger paychecks elsewhere. He was loyal, generous and approachable. He smiled a lot. It didnt take much to get him to laugh his hearty laugh. Gwynn loved San Diego. San Diego loved "Mr. Padre" right back. His death left even casual fans grieving. "Our city is a little darker today without him, but immeasurably better because of him," Mayor Kevin Faulconer said in a statement. Five things to remember about Gwynn: HIS CRAFT: After spending parts of just two seasons in the minors, he made his big league debut on July 19, 1982. Gwynn had two hits that night. After Gwynn doubled, career 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?" On Monday, Rose recalled Gwynns work ethic and his pioneering use of video to study his at-bats after every game. "Every day you went to the ballpark in San Diego and we used to go 2:30 or 3 oclock, Tony would be out there hitting, religiously, every day," Rose said. "Fifty-four years old is way too young." THE LAUGH: Former Padres teammate Tim Flannery recalls Gwynn as "always laughing, always talking, always happy." It didnt take much for Gwynn to cackle or break into a horse laugh. "He had a work ethic unlike anybody else, and had a childlike demeanour of playing the game just because he loved it so much," said Flannery, third base coach for the San Francisco Giants. THE 5.5 HOLE: Gwynn loved to hit the other way, through the hole between third base and shortstop. "All I keep thinking of when I think of Tony Gwynn is that line drive base hit to left field, or the one-hopper in the hole at shortstop to left field," Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully said. "He hit the ball wherever it was pitched, and he was just a genius with the bat, without a doubt." SAN DIEGO STATE: Gwynn had been on a medical leave since late March from his job as baseball coach at San Diego State, his alma mater. He called it his dream job, one he began right after retiring from the Padres following the 2001 season. He coached his son, Tony Jr., whos with the Philadelphia Phillies. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Gwynn played point guard for the SDSU basketball team -- he still holds the game, season and career record for assists -- and in the outfield on the baseball team. He was drafted by both the Padres (third round) and San Diego Clippers (10th round) on the same day in 1981. As much as he loved basketball, baseball was his future. Texas Augie Garrido, the winningest college baseball coach, said at the College World Series on Monday that he tried to recruit Gwynn when he was coaching at Cal State Fullerton, but told him he wouldnt be able to play baseball and basketball. Because baseball would be well underway by the time basketball ended, "Youd have to be one hell of a baseball player to be break into the lineup," Garrido recalled telling Gwynn. "He decided to go to San Diego State. After he won his seventh batting title at Dodger Stadium on the last day of the season, he broke that story to the LA Times. He didnt leave out one bit of information about how stupid I was. Thats why my recruiting genius is limited," said Garrido, who added he and Gwynn had a good relationship. TERRIFIC TONY: Gwynn 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 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 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. Wholesale Steph Curry Shoes . -- Olympic medallist Jennifer Abel of Laval, Que. Steph Curry Shoes Free Shipping . The Twins announced Thursday the 28-year-old Albers cleared waivers. He will join the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. https://www.stephencurryshoescheap.com/ . -- Wes Welker is unlikely to suit up for Denvers game Thursday against San Diego after leaving Sundays win over Tennessee with his second concussion in four games.Wayne Mardle insists Gary Anderson will have to improve on his quarter-final performance if he is to reach a maiden World Grand Prix final Anderson was well below his best against Kim Huybrechts in Thursdays last eight showdown but found a way to win to advance to a last-four meeting with an in-form Raymond van BarneveldMichael van Gerwen meets Dave Chisnall in the other semi-final with Chizzy the only man of the final four yet to claim a major title. World Grand Prix Semi-Final Michael van Gerwen (1) v Dave Chisnall Gary Anderson (2) v Raymond van Barnveld Brilliant Barney marches on Report from quarter-final night in Dublin Barney is yet to drop a set in a run that has seen him beat Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis and Benito van de Pas and while Mardle says the five time world champion will not be the favourite, he says there needs to be a considerable improvement from Anderson.Theres a case for all of them, but Gary Anderson will have to improve on that, without a shadow of a doubt, Mardle told Sky Sports.Gary will be very relieved to get through because if Kim had played just two per cent better, it could have been a different story. Watch NOW TV Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. The first set was as bad as Ive seen Gary playy, but as he said himself, he just couldnt reach tops. Clearance Steph Curry Shoes. When you get a part of your game that lets you down, it affects other parts.The best he played was the last two legs. Thats a positive - a positive win on a negative performance. But he shouldnt let that bother him. Neither Anderson or Van Barneveld have won the Grand Prix title and Anderson has won the last eight meetings between the pair but Barney has been rejuvenated as he chases a first major title since the 2014 Premier League title.Barneveld will not be favourite for that darts match but that doesnt mean he wont believe he can win it, Mardle added.When Barney is at it, hes a winner. He hasnt won anything since the Premier League two years ago, and hell have to do it the hard way.Hes already beat some real good competitors - Gary Anderson has to play better than that. Barney will play well, and if Gary plays poorly, hell be out. World Grand Prix - as it happened Recap of all the action from the World Grand Prix In a tournament that has seen six of the top eight seeds fall by the wayside early, the semi-final line-up in Dublin promises to be a high-class affair and you can see all the action on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm.Michael van Gerwen is the one to beat without a shadow of a doubt, but Chizzy has to believe it, said Mardle.There are four potential winners here, there arent any that cant go on to win a major event.The only one who hasnt won one Chizzy. Is he capable? Of course he is. Just because he hasnt won one, doesnt mean he cant. Maybe it changes for him.You can follow all the action from Fridays semi-finals with our live blog and on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Grand Prix quarter-finals as they happened Results/Schedule Brilliant Barney marches on ' ' '