College baseball needs Tony Gwynn.

The former San Diego Padre and current head coach of the San Diego State baseball team announced earlier this month that he is doing well after a series of cancer treatments for a malignant tumor in his parotid gland.

In other words, college baseball is collectively breathing a lot easier. Cancer is a scary word, but it’s especially frightening for an institution in danger of losing one of its best ambassadors.

There’s nothing more American than playing baseball with a lip full of chewing tobacco. Unfortunately for Gwynn, the practice caught up with him in 1997 when tumors started to appear.

The growths had all been benign up until last year. With the discovery of cancer, people all over baseball began to ponder a world without Mr. Padre. The hall of famer represents all of baseball, but at this point in his career, the college game needs him more than any other level.

Before his major league career, Gwynn roamed the San Diego State outfield from 1979-1981. Gwynn started coaching at his alma mater in 2003. Over his eight seasons, the Aztec manager has coached hundreds of players, but perhaps none better than the human-hype machine that is Stephen Strasburg.

Gwynn groomed the pitching phenom, giving him the tools necessary to succeed on the major-league level. And not to say Mr. Padre called it, but Gwynn told ESPN’s Buster Olney two years ago that Strasburg could be the Nationals ace right out of college. The man knows baseball.

Gwynn’s knowledge, though, isn’t the reason why college baseball can ill afford to lose him. Obvious to some, college baseball is not nearly as popular as college football or basketball.

Top flight high school baseball players aren’t forced to accept scholarship offers. Instead, outgoing seniors can sign professional contracts straight out of high school, meaning college baseball teams are often left with developmental players. And while great prospects such as Strasburg do develop, it takes time for major league baseball to take notice.

Without the talent level of football or basketball, college baseball draws interest by producing a brand of baseball it can be proud of. And when looking for high character individuals, one would be hard-pressed to find a man that can better represent college baseball than Gwynn.

Throughout his 20-year career in MLB, Gwynn racked up more stats than can be listed in this column. More important than any statistic, Gwynn established himself as one of the good guys in baseball.

No spitting at cameras, no screaming at reporters and no telling members of Congress that he isn’t there to talk about the past.

“Everything is going great,” Gwynn told the San Diego Union-Tribune earlier this month. “I don’t have an exact answer yet where I stand with the cancer. I can’t say I’m cured… but I feel good and my doctors tell me they think I’m ahead of schedule.”

Gwynn is aiming for a return to the Aztecs later this month when San Diego State will begin preparation for the upcoming season. For the sake of college baseball, hopefully Gwynn is in the Aztec dugout come mid-February.