Tony Gwynn

Ahead of Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game in San Diego, Major League Baseball announced its National League batting award will be named for Padres legend Tony Gwynn, while the American League accolade will be named for Rod Carew.

Padres.com's Bill Center reported the news.

SAN DIEGO — The Master looked out at The Pupil. It was autumn, 2006, the first days of fall practice, and the incoming freshman class was finding its way, as ever, maturity not always matching exuberance. So there was work to be done. A lot of work.

What The Master saw as he scanned the horizon and focused on one freshman in particular was not future riches and stardom. Instead, what he noted was baby fat to be melted. Toughness to be instilled. What he saw was a lost ball in tall weeds.

Tony Gwynn's death left a major impression on Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale.

Gwynn died in 2014 as a result of salivary gland cancer, a diagnosis he argued in part was due to a chewing tobacco habit.

Baseball has changed in all sorts of ways since the MLB strike in 1994. 

The game is now an absurdly lucrative business both for the players and the owners. Over the past two decades, a number of teams have moved to new stadiums, and new technologies have transformed the way that fans follow their favorite clubs.

On the diamond, it's still the same game, but nobody has come close to accomplishing what Tony Gwynn did in the summer of 1994. 

Major League Baseball mourned an all-time great player and person on June 16 when San Diego Padres icon Tony Gwynn died. More than a week has gone by and Gwynn's death is still impacting others around baseball, particularly those who use smokeless or chewing tobacco.

With their most recent acquisition of outfielder Marcus Thames, the Los Angeles Dodgers not only achieved an addition of power to the roster, but they also balanced the bats in the process. Thames will join a solid corps of outfielders who individually feature power, speed, and reliable defense.

Scott and Jerry Hairston have always shared the same last name.  Now they share the same major league uniform.

Countless childhood memories in the backyard are shared by brothers, emulating and envisioning one day playing together in the big leagues.  The San Diego Padres have made that dream a reality several times—only in a much bigger backyard. 

The San Diego Padres have seemingly been the joke of the NL West.

Even in the years they ended the season as the Western Division champions, there were still people who didn't take the Padres or the NL West seriously. Some even said the Padres shouldn't be allowed in the playoffs due to how weak the division was.

But in 2010, all that has changed. The entire division, from top to bottom, has become both younger and stronger. 

Before we get to Mr. Scruggs' comments during his "Newy and Richie" show on 105.3 FM in Dallas this morning, let me start by saying that I'm a big fan of Newy's and a loyal listener to his show.

That being said, I grew up as a San Diego Padre fan and lived in Southern California for almost eight years of my life. I spent a lot of Sunday afternoons at Petco Park watching the Padres and guys like Trevor Hoffman, Jake Peavy, and Adrian Gonzalez.

With the Winter Meetings just around the corner, the San Diego Padres are in a position to possibly make a few moves to turn this team into a contender in the National League's West Division.

The payroll may not reach more than $40 million next season, but new general manager Jed Hoyer admitted that they may have some wiggle room to sign one or two free agents.