Good for Tony

There are several potential "breakfast of champions" jokes that could be made at Tony Gwynn's expense in light of the news that he has made the cover of the Wheaties box, but reading the whole story, I was happy to come across this passage:

Gwynn, who has battled his weight since late in his playing career, recently participated in the Wheaties Fit to Win Challenge to get in shape for his Hall of Fame induction on July 29. He lost about 17 pounds and 9.8 percent body fat.

Gwynn has always been one of my favorites, and it has pained me to see recent pictures showing him to be in such terrible shape. Short guys like him carrying such weight tend to die, like, yesterday, and as far as I am concerned, one Kirby Puckett incident is enough. I hope he continues to drop the weight, because he is an asset to the game and treasure for the city of San Diego.