Tributes Pour In: Baseball World Mourns the Loss of Former Padres Player and Hitting Coach

Merv Rettenmund, a 13-season Major League veteran who later earned recognition as a respected hitting coach, passed away on Saturday at 81.

The longtime San Diego resident learned in August he had terminal cancer. San Diego Tribune reporter Tom Krasovic was one of the last people to speak to him.

“I’m going to pass away soon,” he said by phone on the day after Thanksgiving. “The doctors told me, ‘Just forget it. You’re in trouble.’”

“I got to watch T. Gwynn,” Rettenmund added. “It’s been a great ride. Really and truly, I feel really good. I’m not in any pain. Everything is hunky dory.”

It was under Rettenmund’s leadership when Tony Gwynn won four of his eight batting titles and pushed for the .400 mark in 1994.

Rettenmund served as the A’s hitting coach during their power-driven run to a World Series title in 1989 and an American League pennant in 1990. However, most of his coaching career was with the Padres, where he worked from 1991 to 1999 and returned for a second stint from 2006 to 2007, marking the end of his time as a major league coach.

But, his big league career began with the 1968 Orioles.

Rettenmund was part of Baltimore’s pennant-winning teams from 1969 to 1971. He contributed to the Orioles’ World Series triumph in 1970, hitting a home run in the Game 5 clincher against the Reds.

Rettenmund posted a strong 1970 season, hitting .322 with a .938 OPS and 18 home runs. He followed that up with a solid 1971 campaign, earning a few down-ballot MVP votes after finishing with a .318 average and a .422 on-base percentage.

After the 1973 season, he was traded to Cincinnati, where he won his second World Series ring with the Reds’ powerhouse team in 1975.

In the later years of his career, with the Padres (1976-77) and Angels (1978-80), Rettenmund became one of the best pinch-hitters in baseball. His 22 pinch hits for San Diego in 1977 remain a team record.

In his final years, Rettenmund lived in downtown San Diego, just a short distance from Petco Park. His passion for baseball never waned, and he maintained a deep emotional connection to the Padres.

Even in his dying days, he never lost his sense of humor realizing that he would pass before a championship would be celebrated at Petco Park.

“At least I won’t have to see the Padres win the World Series,” he cracked.