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At just 23 years old, Chris Gwynn was the third-youngest member of the 1988 Dodgers, behind Ramon Martinez and Jose Gonzalez. The brother of All-Star outfielder Tony Gwynn of the Padres, Chris Gwynn was highly touted in his own right and drafted earlier in his draft than his older brother.
Gwynn starred at San Diego State and was a member of the 1984 United States Olympic baseball team, which played games at Dodger Stadium.
How acquired: Gwynn was drafted in the first round by the Dodgers in 1985, 10th overall.
Prior MLB experience: Gwynn hit .287/.315/.392 in 111 games in Double-A San Antonio in 1986, then hit .279/.346/.370 in 110 games in Triple-A Albuquerque in 1987. He made his major league debut on Aug. 14, 1987 and had three singles and two RBI in a win against the Giants. Gwynn appeared in 17 games for the Dodgers in 1987 and had seven hits in 32 at-bats.
1988 age: 23
1988 stats: Gwynn appeared in 12 games, all in September after rosters expanded, and didn't start once. Gwynn had two hits and a walk in 12 plate appearances, and hit .182/.250/.182. Ten of his 12 plate appearances in 1988 came as a pinch hitter, a role that would define Gwynn throughout his career.
Regular season game of the year: It's kind of slim pickings here, but Gwynn singled and scored his only run of the season on Sept. 24 in a win over the Giants.
NLCS & World Series performance: Gwynn was left off the 24-man postseason roster.
Post-1988 playing career: Gwynn remained with the Dodgers through 1991, though in his first five years he was mostly a reserve, starting just 62 of his 256 games played. He was traded to the Royals after the 1991 season for first baseman Todd Benzinger, and Gwynn hit .296/.342/.391 in 137 games over two years with Kansas City.
Gwynn rejoined the Dodgers primarily as a pinch hitter for two more seasons, and led Los Angeles in pinch hit appearances in 1990, 1991, 1994, and 1995. Gwynn joined his brother Tony in San Diego in 1996, and Chris's final major league plate appearance resulted in a two-run double in the 11th inning at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 29 to win the National League West for the Padres on the final day of the season.
Where he is now: After his playing career ended Gwynn jumped right into scouting with the Padres, a position he held from 1997-2009. Gwynn worked his way up to director of player personnel of the Padres in 2010-11, and 2013 will be his second year as director of minor league operations of the Mariners.