Giants' Bochy calls Gwynn's death 'a huge loss'

Bruce Bochy played alongside Tony Gwynn in San Diego and later had the pleasure of managing Gwynn with the Padres.

So the death of Hall of Famer Gwynn on Monday at age 54 hit Bochy hard.

“Just a huge loss for baseball and San Diego,” Bochy said Tuesday at U.S. Cellular Field.

Bochy managed the Padres from 1995-2006, and since 2007 he has been the manager of the San Francisco Giants, who are in town to play the White Sox in an interleague series.

The Giants had an off-day Monday and were en route to Chicago.

“The things I heard yesterday on the flight here to Chicago are what it's about,” Bochy said. “The fact that you heard what a good person he was and what a great ambassador (for) the game, his accessibility, how he made himself available to the fans …

“We all know what a great player he was and a great hitter. But that (being a good person) is what you ultimately want to be known for, and the fact that he is getting recognized for being such a tremendous person, it's just a tough loss for baseball because this is one of the great guys ever in the game.

“I know I'm going to miss him. He lived within a half-mile of me. I wish right now I'd been able to spend a lot more time with him the last few years.”