Biography:
Standing 6' 6" tall and weighing well over two
hundred pounds, Dave Winfield looked like a Goliath
in the batter's box and his offensive statistics certified
his menace. Over his 22-year career Winfield amassed
3,110 hits, 465 home runs and 1,833 RBI’s, putting
him in a class with the great modern sluggers. Furthermore,
Dave Winfield's personality helped carry baseball
through the 1980's. Few players had the largesse to
be as involved with fans, ownership, the press and
the local community as much as Dave.
David Mark Winfield was born October 3, 1951 in St
Paul, Minnesota. He was one of the best players in
Major League Baseball for two decades, and was involved
in many well remembered incidents, some humorous and
some controversial.
Dave Winfield grew up in St. Paul and earned a scholarship
to the University of Minnesota, where he starred in
both basketball and baseball for the Golden Gophers.
After hitting and pitching the Gophers to the College
World Series in 1973, he was drafted by the San Diego
Padres, the Minnesota Vikings despite not playing
college football, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Utah
Stars of the ABA. He is one of only two men ever drafted
in three different pro sports.
Dave chose baseball, and gained another distinction
when the Padres promoted him directly to the majors.
This is a rare move in modern baseball, making him
one of a select few players since the origins of the
amateur draft in 1965 to make the leap straight to
Major League Baseball without playing in the minor
leagues first. He proved up to the task, batting .277
in 56 games.
A true five-tool athlete, Dave Winfield played 22
seasons, earning 12 All-Star Game selections. He was
an imposing figure and a durable strongman with the
rare ability to combine power and consistency. In
tours of duty with six major league teams, Dave batted
.283, hit 465 home runs, and amassed 3,110 hits. He
won the Gold Glove award seven times.
During his first years in San Diego, he was a good,
but not great player, gradually increasing his power
and hits totals. He burst into stardom in 1979, when
he batted .308 with 34 home runs and 118 RBI, then
played one more season with the Padres before becoming
a free agent.
In 1981, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner
made headlines by signing Dave Winfield to a 10-year,
$23 million contract, making him the game's highest-paid
player. He was one of the best players in the game
throughout the life of the contract, but soon had
a falling out with Steinbrenner.
Dave helped the Yankees to the 1981 American League
pennant, but then had a poor World Series, and the
Yankees lost in six games to the Dodgers. A bitter
Steinbrenner derided Dave by saying "I got rid
of Mr. October (Reggie Jackson) and got Mr. May."
The Mr. May sobriquet lived with him for the rest
of his career.
Dave went on to hit 37 home runs in a spectacular
1982 season and batted .340, second in the league
to teammate Don Mattingly, in 1984. He drove in 744
runs between 1982 and 1988, won five Gold Glove Awards
for his stellar outfield play and was named to the
All-Star Game every season.
On August 4, 1983, Dave Winfield, while warming up
before the 5th inning of a game at Toronto's Exhibition
Stadium, accidentally killed a seagull with a thrown
ball. He doffed his cap in mock sorrow. Fans responded
by hurling obscenities and improvised missiles. After
the game, he was brought to the Ontario Provincial
Police station on charges of cruelty to animals and
was forced to post a $500 bond before being released.
Quipped Yankees manager Billy Martin, "It's the
first time he's hit the cutoff man." The charges
were dropped the following day. For years afterward
Winfield's appearances in Toronto were greeted with
loud choruses of boos, but he later became a fan favorite.
In 1990, Steinbrenner was suspended from running
the Yankees for two years because of his connections
to a gambler, whom he'd paid to find embarrassing
information on Dave Winfield. The year was no better
for Dave, who sat out 1989 with an injury. The next
year, he was traded to the California Angels.
Although in his late 30s, he was still a productive
hitter. In 1992, he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays
as their designated hitter, and batted .290 with 26
homers and 108 RBI. The Blue Jays won the pennant,
giving him a shot at redemption for his previous late-season
and post-season futility. In game 6 of the series,
he delivered with a game-winning two-run double in
the 11th inning to win the World Championship for
Toronto.
He then spent 1993 and 94 with his hometown Minnesota
Twins, achieving 3000 hits. In fact, Dave Winfield’s
3,000th hit drove in famous center fielder Kirby Puckett.
He loved playing in Minnesota as a Designate Hitter
and Minnesota fans loved having him.
Winfield retired in 1995 and was elected to the Baseball
Hall of Fame in 2001, in his first year of eligibility.
