“He was the man.”
City Heights just got some new artwork! Local artists Paul Jimenez and Signe Ditona of Ground Floor Murals painted an amazing mural of the late baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn.
The mural seemingly portrays Mr. Padre from the 1987 season, reportedly one of the legend’s favorites, when he led the National League with a .370 batting average in 157 games. That same season, Gwynn boasted a league-leading 8.6 WAR, which was in fact the highest, single-season WAR ever produced by a Padre, according to FriarWire.
#MrPadre would be proud. 🤎
(🎨: Groundfloormurals on IG) pic.twitter.com/NgSLYhLwZ6
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) November 13, 2020
Tony Gwynn is considered one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history and collected eight National League batting titles in his 20-year career. He boasted a career batting average of .338 and never hit below .309 in any full season.
Jimenez and Ditona were commissioned to honor the Padres legend by Love City Heights, a local organization committed to the art community that is already responsible for over two dozen murals in the area. In an interview with FOX5, the volunteer who contacted the artists, William Corrales, said “That’s a blessing that we hooked up with these artists. Because Tony Gwynn means a lot to me and I know it does for the city.”
Artist Jimenez was also thrilled about the project. “Literally as a kid, my dad was a huge fan, so I was a huge fan,” he said. “I had all of his cards, had the signature. He was like my super hero as a kid. My dad, the same thing. He was the man.”
The mural can be seen on the side of an MMA gym on University Avenue between Marlborough Avenue and 42nd Street.
Location: 4151 University Avenue
[Featured image: Ground Floor Murals]