Tony Gwynn Jr. re hearing as a youngster — when he still went by the name Anthony — about people naming their children after his father.
“The first few times I heard it as a young kid I was like, ‘Why would they do that?’ ” Gwynn said. “I understand it within my family very well why those kind of things happen. But outside my family?”
The younger Gwynn went by Anthony — some called him “Little T” — the first half of his life before embracing the name Tony Gwynn Jr.
He’s now watching his own son, 9-year-old Anthony Keith Gwynn III, find himself.
“He prefers to be called Anthony now as opposed to Trey, because we had called him Trey his whole life,” Gwynn said.
Speaking on the eve of what would have been his father’s 65th birthday, Gwynn discussed what’s in a name, especially one made very famous by his father.
After having three daughters, Gwynn thought he was destined to be a girl dad.
Three months after his father’s June 2014 death, Gwynn and his wife learned they were going to have a baby. A subsequent gender reveal showed it was going to be a son.
“I was pretty adamant at that time that I didn’t want to name my son Anthony,” Gwynn said. “When we found out it was a boy, it just felt like what we should do. He happened to be born almost a year to the day after my dad’s death.
“It was almost like a sign.”
Since ing the Padres broadcast team, Gwynn said he has come across dozens and dozens of people who have also honored his father by naming a child after him.
“I imagine that most people who gave their child my dad’s name or a piece of his name, probably all felt similar,” Gwynn said. “It was probably less about baseball and more about the human.
“The baseball part will always be there as long as baseball’s around. I don’t know if it will be forever, but it will definitely be for a long period of time. As you get older and you see more examples of it, it’s proof that, whether you know somebody or not, you can have an impact on their life.
“It’s high praise coming from someone not in your family that they think of you so highly that they would name their child after you. It’s as high of praise as you can have.”
The Union-Tribune this week ed three people who were so impacted by Tony Gwynn that they named one of the children after him:
Growing up Gwynn
Name: Gwynn Thomas Maselli, 10
Parents: Joe and Laurie Maselli of Canton, Ga.
Gwynn fan: Joe Maselli was born in 1978 and grew up in Garden Grove.
“I became a Padres fan when I was 10, which is an ideal age when you’re thinking nostalgia-wise,” Maselli said. “When you go back, the world’s perfect when you’re 10.”
He followed the Padres on the radio, listening over the static to hear Gwynn getting “hit after hit after hit.”
“I’m a lefty and I always felt like we had the same approach at the plate,” he said. “I never liked to strike out. I always like to put the ball in play. I loved the whole 5.5 (hole) thing. Work away, work away and the ball inside you’ll naturally turn on it. That was his approach for about 80% of his career, until he had the conversation with Ted Williams about pulling the ball more.
“I was all in. I listened to them on the radio every night. Watched them every so often when they were on ESPN and, of course, when they played the Dodgers. I got down there a few times on a birthday-type thing. Never really went to (Dodger Stadium), but it was always a treat to go down and see him at The Murph.”
What’s in a name? Maselli lives about 30 minutes from the Braves’ Truist Park.
After having girls with both his first and second wives, Maselli thought he was destined for daughters. In the summer of 2014, he learned another baby was on the way.
“We found out we were pregnant the same week that Tony ed away,” Joe said. “Thinking it’s going to be a girl, I asked her, ‘What do you think of the name Gwynn?’ We’ll just spell it that way and it will be a cool thing to do.”
Laurie Maselli said it would be a good name for a girl or a boy.
“She was all in,” Joe said. “Obviously, she knew that was my dude. No convincing needed. She knew I was a die-hard Padres fan and what a great guy I thought he was.”
They are all die-hard Padres fans now. Joe coaches a youth team in the Canton League (Laurie is the league’s vice president) and always picks Padres for the team name. Gwynn and his 11-year-old sister Cora (no, not named after Joey) both play on the team.
What has Joe told Gwynn about his Hall of Fame namesake?
“Baseball-wise, that he turned himself into a great outfielder, a great base runner, all-around player, a Gold Glover even, because of work,” Maselli said. “He was willing to work hard. And that’s what I tell my son. Always be willing to grind and keep getting after it. …
“I told him I named him after Tony because that’s the type of person I want him to be. Somebody that’s happy to see you coming. Smile on your face. The laugh, obviously. You know, Teddy (Leitner) talks about how he has that laugh recorded on his phone.
“Just a great way of living your life that you’re always making people happy to see you. The stories, talking hitting, how you’re doing. Just showing you care and being genuine.”
A Connecticut Padre
Name: Anthony Rocco Turturino, 23
Parents: David and Susan Turturino of Stratford, Conn.
Gwynn fan: David Turturino was born and raised in Connecticut, more than 2,800 miles from San Diego, but somehow found his way to the Padres and their All-Star right fielder.
“I don’t like the New York teams here,” Turturino said. “When I was a young kid, I liked the Yankees. But God forbid they do bad. They’re all bandwagon fans here. I decided I’m going someplace that nobody likes, and I’m going to pick a team. I must have seen the Padres on TV or something.
“They went to the World Series in 1984. I was actually out there for opening day in 1985. I flew out there for vacation with my father. We started in San Francisco, then flew down to L.A. and drove down to San Diego.”
He gravitated to the Padres’ All-Star right fielder.
“I’ve always liked Tony Gwynn ever since I was a kid,” said Joe, who was 12 when Gwynn reached the major leagues in 1982. “He was my idol growing up. Anytime I played baseball I was No. 19. He had a way of playing. I played baseball and softball growing up. I had very little power, but I could hit for base hits. I was like the right-handed Tony Gwynn. I could go opposite way. I kind of emulated him. Whatever he did, I kind of followed.
“And him, Cal Ripken, Derek Jeter, they played the whole career with the same team. There was never contract disputes. It was always San Diego. I loved the way he played.”
Turturino met Gwynn once, when a friend’s father who knew Mets second baseman Tim Teufel arranged an introduction.
“I was probably in my 20s, and I was shaking,” Turturino said. “He was the nicest guy. Just the five minutes I talked with him. … I brought a jersey for him to sign. He signed the one on the (number) 19. Beautiful signature on it. Took his time to do it. Shook my hand. Talked to me for a little while.”
They connected more indirectly a few years later.
“The first date with my ex-wife, the only foul ball I ever caught was hit by Tony Gwynn,” Turturino said. “It bounced and came right to me. I was like, ‘Look at this.’ What are the odds of that out of all the ballplayers?”
What’s in a name? David Turturino’s wife picked the name for their first child.
“I’m like, ‘All right, I get to pick the name for this one,’ ” he said. “But she was on board.”
Turturino has told son Anthony about the inspiration for his name “for as long as I can .”
“Unfortunately, he’s not a big baseball fan,” Turturino said. “These kids these days, they don’t take an interest unless it’s on a video screen. He was never really into sports, although he was good at it. He just didn’t want to play.
“So he knows, but he doesn’t know who Tony Gwynn was, besides he’s a guy my dad liked. He doesn’t get the significance of it. He’s like, ‘Oh, OK.’ “
Gwynn resonates more with Turturino’s mother.
“Funny thing,” he said, “my mom’s birthday is same day as him.”
‘Like a father figure’
Name: Bruno Gwynn Haflich, 4
Parents: Tom and Gina Haflich of Oakland
Gwynn fan: Tom Haflich moved to San Diego when he was 2 years old and gained an appreciation for Gwynn soon thereafter.
“I feel like the San Diego Padres fan was in me from the start,” he said. “My mom was always a big Tony Gwynn fan. I really became cognizant in 1994. That’s when I really developed my fandom for the Padres and Tony Gwynn.
“My dad was in the Navy. He was constantly out on deployment. He was a career guy, in for 32 years. So watching the Padres, watching Tony Gwynn, he was somewhat of a father figure for me. Watching him. That familiar laugh. The kind of individual that he was. He was always someone to look up to.”
Haflich recalls a couple up-close moments with Gwynn.
“I was part of the Junior Padres program and I getting to go out on the field, players walking around,” Haflich said. “I got a chance to meet him briefly.”
Another occasion was even more memorable.
“We’re at a game during batting practice and my sister caught a ball that Tony hit,” Haflich said. “He came over afterwards to tell her what a great catch it was and sign the ball for her. I was 10 or 11 at the time, and it was one of those cool moments.”
When he was a teenager, Haflich’s mother brought the kids to Qualcomm Stadium for a watch party to see Gwynn collect his 3,000th hit on a video feed from Montreal. Living in the Bay Area, Haflich watches the Padres play when they head north. He traveled to Sacramento earlier this year to see them play the relocated A’s.
The appreciation for Gwynn came from “Things in the local paper. Things my parents would tell me. Anytime he was interviewed he had that personality about him. Always kind. Laughing. Joyful. You knew how much he cared about the city. Always someone to look up to.”
Haflich’s son, Bruno Gwynn, just turned 4 years old. To hear his dad tell it, the kid has the makings of a ballplayer.
“He is obsessed with Fernando Tatis Jr.,” Haflich said. “He watches plenty of baseball. He likes to play in the backyard. We were playing in the house until mom shut that down.”
What’s in a name? Haflich said naming their son required a compromise.
“If she gets to pick the first name, I get the middle name,” he said. “I always had this dream of having a kid named after Tony just because he was so important to me growing up. My identity as a San Diegan and just what I felt like Tony and the Padres represented — somebody staying loyal and faithful to a team no matter what. So I wanted Gwynn for a middle name.”
Soon enough Haflich will recount for his son the moments leading up to his birth.
There is a post on social media that pictures Haflich in a Padres sweatshirt, both arms raised with the game on TV in the background. It wasn’t just any game.
“GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!” Haflich posted to Twitter on April 9, 2021. “@padres get their first no-no and my first born son Bruno Gwynn is on his way. Hope you like the middle name @tonygwynnjr.”
“We’re watching Joe Musgrove throw his no-hitter and then a few hours later my son’s born,” Haflich said. “It felt like the world had lined up. The first Padres no-hitter to get that off our back and my son born the next day. It kind of all made sense.”
