Tony Gwynn, the greatest pure hitter of his generation whose perfect left-handed swing won him eight batting titles and a litany of admirers across baseball, died Monday after years of battling cancer. He was 54.

Gwynn, who spent his entire 20-year career with the San Diego Padres, underwent multiple surgeries over the past four years to remove cancerous tumors from his mouth, blaming a smokeless tobacco habit. He took a leave of absence from his job as San Diego State baseball coach in March to undergo further treatment.

Gwynn finished his major league career with 3,141 hits and a .338 batting average, the highest mark for a hitter since Ted Williams' career started in 1939.