Gwynn participated at spring training with San Diego in 1982, and hit an impressive .375. However, the Padres were set in the outfield with veterans Gene Richards, Ruppert Jones, and Sixto Lezcano, and Gwynn began the season with Triple-A Hawaii. He was batting .328 in 93 games with the Islanders when he was promoted and debuted for the Padres on July 19, 1982. He started in center field against the Philadelphia Phillies in place of a slumping Jones. In his fourth at-bat, Gwynn got his first major league hit—a double—against reliever Sid Monge. Rose, who was the Phillies first baseman and later became the major-league all-time hit leader, told Gwynn, "Congratulations. Don't catch me in one night." Five weeks later against Pittsburgh, Gwynn injured his left wrist after diving for a ball and hitting the hard artificial turf at Three Rivers Stadium, and missed three weeks while on the disabled list (DL). He finished his rookie season batting .289 in 54 games, the only season in his career he hit below .300. His 15-game hitting streak was the longest on the team that season.