As you obviously know, Tony Gwynn, who accumulated 3,141 hits during his MLBaseball career passed away yesterday at the age of 54 due to oral cancer. Gwynn was “Mr. Padre”, as he spent his entire entire career there. Here are photos of the San Diego Padres community paying their respects yesterday. He’s the greatest of all San Diego Padres players, as he batted .300 in each of his last 19 seasons, an MLB streak second only to Ty Cobb’s.

Cobb is the only player in MLB history to have more batting titles. His No. 19 was retired by the Padres in 2004, and a statue was erected in his honor at Petco Park. The west side of which is bordered by Tony Gwynn Drive. Coincidentally, I’m vacationing today in San Diego, and I made my way down the ballpark when I heard the news.

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Since Fox Sports and MLB didn’t honor Tony Gwynn tonight during the All-Star Game, here’s my tribute. It’s my photo collection from being in the city of San Diego on the day he died.

Tony Gwynn, who accumulated 3,141 hits during his Major League Baseball career passed away today at the age of 54. Gwynn was “Mr. Padre”, as he spent his entire entire career there. He was drafted by both the San Diego Padres and the San Diego Clippers out of San Diego State in the same week. So he’s Mr. San Diego in edition to being Mr. Padre. He tops the top ten list of all time Padres.

Tony Gwynn batted .300 in each of his last 19 seasons, an MLB streak second only to Ty Cobb’s. Cobb is the only player in MLB history to have more batting titles. His No. 19 was retired by the Padres in 2004, and a statue was erected in his honor at Petco Park. The west side of which is bordered by Tony Gwynn Drive.

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Whether you love or hate (or find apathy for) the All-Star Game, you have to realize it’s in serious long-term peril. While you’re entitled to your own opinion, you’re not entitled to your own facts. And here are some critical numbers and interpretation of those All-Star game numbers from Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated:

Viewership for the All-Star Game is hemorrhaging and in more unpleasant news for Fox Sports, the All-Star Game viewers are also getting older. A brief snapshot of the downward trend: The game drew 28.2 million viewers in 1985. Twelve years later, the first time Fox aired the game, viewership dropped to 16.7 million viewers. The audience fell to 12.3 million in 2005 and last year the game drew 11.0 million viewers, up slightly (10.9 million) from 2012. Last year’s viewership increase stopped a three-year decline in viewership but the game concluded as the third-least watched MLB All-Star Game in history.

Perhaps most disturbing: Sports Business Daily reported the average age for last year’s All-Star telecast was 53, the highest mark yet for the game. Given the 18-to-49 adult demo is the money demo for sports broadcasting, this is not a good trend.

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Jose Abreu gives you a reason to watch Chicago baseball this year. And from the looks of the near empty stadiums and the numbers showing the televisions turned off/on to something else other than Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox games, it’s obvious that very few of you are indeed watching Chicago baseball. Can’t say I blame you as 2013 was the worst combined season for the Cubs and Sox — ever.

Well, some of you watched the Sox on one particular night, inadvertently dressed as Ku Klux Klansmen, but I’m sure the Sox marketing person who green lighted that has been fired, so let’s move on.

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As Chris Sale was left off the American League All-Star team on Sunday, the backlash started to hurdle in on John Farrell for his decision.

Although every team needed at least one representative, Dellin Betances, the New York Yankees setup man, was selected. If starters can just pitch one inning of work in the All-Star game, why would Farrell select Betances over Sale, one of the most dominant pitchers in the first half of the season?

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Los Angeles Dodgers newcomer Yasiel Puig took MLB by storm last summer. In a sport that lacks a true “poster child,” Puig might just develop into that iconic figure. And Puig could become that definitive superstar sooner rather than later. Or it could be the Angels Mike Trout. Chances are it will be somebody from the City of sAngels.

Last year Puig made a 280 foot throw (distance according to MLB Network) that was just insanely perfect from deep in right field of Nationals Park.

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It may be way too late to save Baltimore from being under water someday, but the Baltimore Orioles are trying to do their part to minimize the catastrophic effects that climate change will have on future generations. Even if we, as an entire globe, were able to somehow restore carbon emissions to the the pre-industrial revolution levels of the year 1700, it’s still too late.

In the decades ahead, the polar ice caps will melt, sea levels will rise and coastal cities like Baltimore will flood. But World Environment Day (WED) is June 5, and their are still some things we can do.

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Ryne Sandberg hasn’t been Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies very long, but he already finds himself at the heart of national media controversy. Sort of. Daily Show host Jon Stewart lit into him last night on his Comedy Central talk show, then segueing into an all out assault on the city of Philadelphia.

The late night talk show host and comedian really goes off on Philly fare, the Phillies mascot, and Philly culture in response to the claims Ryne Sandberg made that the Shake Shack restaurant at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, made him extremely sick.

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Michael Pineda’s pine tar-smeared neck transports us to a time when baseball cheating was simpler; a time before steroids, congressional committees and televised testimony about injecting HGH into Roger Clemens’s behind. Pineda’s beautiful incompetence reveals how much we long for the stress-free cheats of old.

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If you want to buy a batting cage, it is very important that you know what you are looking for and what you are getting. Batting cages aren’t cheap and you should invest in something that will actually last you for many years. Let’s take a look at some tips to keep in mind before you buy a batting cage.

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