Tony Gwynn Put On The DL

May 21, 1999 / 11:47 PM EDT / AP

Tony Gwynn's countdown to 3,000 hits has pulled up lame at T-minus 25.

The last thing the last-place Padres needed to see was Gwynn getting hurt. But there he was, grimacing as he hopped down to first base after straining his left calf muscle coming out of the batter's box in the first inning of San Diego's 5-4 win Friday night over Cincinnati.

The 39-year-old lefty went on the 15-day disabled list Saturday. He's eligible to return on June 6, right around the time he originally was projected to become the 22nd member of the 3,000-hit club.

Gwynn, Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken, who all began the season with a chance to reach 3,000, each have gone on the DL this year.

"It's ironic, I think," said Gwynn, who left the stadium on crutches, his lower leg in a large walking boot. "Boggs gets hurt, Ripken gets hurt and now I get hurt."

"There's nothing you can say, nothing you could have done to prevent it. It's just one of those things."

The slumping Gwynn, who remains on hold with 2,975 hits, said he's taking this setback in stride. He's had to answer a lot of questions about his pursuit of 3,000 hits, and figures he'll at least get a break from that.

"Maybe it's just the good Lord giving me a sign, `Hey, you've just got to concentrate on your job and just go out and take care of business,"' said Gwynn, whose 7-for-41 slump in his last 11 games has dropped his average from .400 on May 4 to .333.

He has only one multi-hit performance in his last 17 games after getting two or more hits 12 times in his first 21 games.

Facing the Reds' Brett Tomko, Gwynn hit a two-hopper to second base to start an inning-ending double play.

"I topped the ball so I knew I had to go," Gwynn said. "First step it grabbed me, second step, I just couldn't go. So I was hopping down the line. The crowd reaction to me was funny because I know they were following the ball to second to short to first, and when they threw to first, I was nowhere to be seen."

He was hopping down the line, keeping all his weight on his right foot.

Manager Bruce Bochy and several players joined a team training in rushing out to check on Gwynn, who shares the NL record for batting titles eight with Honus Wagner. He was helped off the field by a trainer and a teammate.

Gwynn said his teammates thought he tore his Achilles' tendon, which really would have been bad news.

Gwynn was on the disabled list last Aug. 13 to Sept. 1 with an inflamed left Achilles' tendon, and in 1996 missed 30 games with a frayed right Achilles' tendon. He still won the batting title in '96. He also missed time with a strained right calf in June 1993.

"When the doctors started checking it right away, everybody was like taking a sigh of relief that it wasn't the Achilles," he said. "It hurt almost as bad as the other one (in '93), or the Achilles'. I mean, it just grabbe me."

"In 15 days we'll see how it feels, because right now it doesn't feel real good."

After being swept by the New York Yankees in the World Series, this season has been one big ache for the Padres.

Catcher Carlos Hernandez tore his left Achilles tendon in spring training, sidelining him for the year, and Bochy has not had his original starting eight together since opening day.

Third baseman George Arias was on the DL for 24 games early in the season, and slumping first baseman Wally Joyner went on the DL Thursday, retroactive to Monday, with a chip fracture of his left shoulder. Catcher Jim Leyritz is expected to be out for up to a week, but he might be cleared to pinch-hit.

"It's not just the number, but it's as much the quality of players we're losing," said general manager Kevin Towers, who called up Triple-A outfielder Mike Darr to fill Gwynn's roster spot. "You don't replace guys like Wally and Tony very easily."

More from CBS News