Detroit Tigers pay homage to Tony Gwynn and the ‘5.5 hole’

The baseball world came together on Monday night to pay homage to one of the best hitters it has ever seen after Tony Gwynn lost his battle with cancer at 54 years old.

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One example came in Detroit, where the Tigers memorialized the ‘5.5 hole’ in the infield where Gwynn used to always hit the ball with the following tribute on the infield dirt.

From SB Nation:

The stories and memories offered on the days of Gwynn’s passing have been universally position, and rightfully so. People recall fondly the type of hitter he was and, more importantly, the high quality guy that he was. To pay tribute to Gwynn by having stories of his greatness at the plate and as a person intertwined seems only fitting, even if it will never be enough to truly honor the man.

On the baseball side of things, Gwynn’s ability to hit the ball the other way was unparalleled. It was also what made him such a tough out over the course of his entire career and what made him a perennial threat to bat .400.

Pure contact hitters like Gwynn are harder and harder to find these days. That is one, less important way that Gwynn was truly one of a kind. The more important way, of course, was the fact that he was such a class act and was kind to everybody he met. He will be missed.