Thursday, July 16, 1998

BY AARON J. LOPEZ
AP Sports Writer

Gwynn can only remember the days when his average reached .340. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

DENVER -- By the time his career-worst hitting slump reached 0-for-19, Tony Gwynn had lost all confidence at the plate. San Diego's eight-time NL batting champion had been reduced to an automatic out.

"My confidence was just shot," Gwynn said. "I know that sounds strange from a guy who's won eight batting titles and is coming up on 2,900 hits, but confidence was slipping through the windows, man. It was gone."

Gwynn, winner of four straight NL batting crowns, regained some confidence earlier this week with back-to-back 1-for-5 nights against Colorado. But in the past eight games, he has gone 2-for-29 to drop his average from .333 to .309. League leader Dante Bichette is hitting .345.

"I don't mind having to talk about it, but at the same time, I go 0-for-20 and it's huge news," said Gwynn, a .340 career hitter who is more accustomed to talking about his frequent pursuits of .400.

"Right now, it's a tough time, man. I'm hitting the ball good, and I keep coming back to the dugout shaking my head and thinking, "Hey, what do I have to do?' "

Gwynn still has plenty of time to climb the league's hitting charts, and Bichette can't help but look over his shoulder. He still remembers 1995 when he hit .340 and still finished 28 points behind Gwynn.

"We went into San Diego for a four-game series before the All-Star break," Bichette said. "I was hitting .370, and he was hitting about .340. I was leading the league and feeling pretty good. I came out of that series hitting .340 and he was hitting .370. We switched places, so I know what Tony can do."

Despite Gwynn's rare inconsistency at the plate -- he had an 0-for-14 slide in June -- the Padres (61-34) have not wavered as they chase the 14-year-old franchise record for wins (92) in a season.

Greg Vaughn has 30 homers and is a leading candidate for comeback player of the year. Ken Caminiti is hitting .439 with six homers and 15 RBIs in his last 16 games, and Wally Joyner has quietly hit .325 with 56 RBIs.

"It's kind of comical, really," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said of the attention surrounding Gwynn's sub-par July. "I guess it's a credit to how good he is. He hits a little skid and it's headline news. Like anything, everybody on our team's going to have their rough moments, and he's showing that he's human right now."

Gwynn said he has not made any major changes to his hitting approach. He hit a handful of fly balls that died at the wall during the Colorado series, and a few hard-hit grounders were directly at infielders. "I could sit here and qualify it, but it's still 0-for-19," he said. "I'm swinging the bat a lot better and I just expect sooner or later, they'll start to fall."

As for his pursuit of an NL-record nine batting titles, Gwynn has made that a second priority.

"It would be a lot worse if we were struggling -- a lot worse," he said. "We've played well, and that takes a lot of pressure off guys. Winning is what it's all about, and I don't think anybody's thinking about individual anything."