Dave Winfield Signing
Hall of Fame right fielder, 12-time All-Star, and 1992 World Series hero.
David Mark Winfield (born October 3, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He is the special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Over his 22-year career, he played for six teams: the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, and Cleveland Indians. He had the winning hit in the 1992 World Series with the Blue Jays over the Atlanta Braves.
Winfield is a 12-time MLB All-Star, a seven-time Gold Glove Award winner, and a six-time Silver Slugger Award winner. The Padres retired Winfield's No. 31 in his honor. He also wore No. 31 while playing for the Yankees and Indians and wore No. 32 with the Angels, Blue Jays and Twins. In 2004, ESPN named him the third-best all-around athlete of all time in any sport.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 in his first year of eligibility, and was an inaugural inductee into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Quick Facts
- Selection status
- First Overall Pick (1965: Rick Monday)
Lore & Background
David Mark Winfield was born on October 3, 1951, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and grew up in the city's Rondo neighborhood. His parents divorced when he was three years old, leaving him and his older brother Stephen to be raised by their mother, Arline, and a large extended family. Winfield earned a full baseball scholarship to the University of Minnesota in 1969, where he starred in baseball and basketball. In 1973, he was named All-American and voted MVP of the College World Series, as a pitcher.
Following college, the San Diego Padres selected him as a pitcher with the fourth overall pick in the 1973 MLB draft. He chose baseball and signed with the Padres, who promoted him directly to the major leagues. Although he was a pitcher, the Padres wanted his powerful bat in the lineup and put him in right field. He batted .277 in 56 games for his first season.
Over his Padres career (1973–1980), he developed into an All-Star, won Gold Gloves, and in 1979 had a league-leading 118 RBIs. In December 1980, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner made Winfield the game's highest-paid player by signing him to a ten-year, $23 million contract. Winfield was a key factor in leading the Yankees to the 1981 American League pennant. He played for the Yankees from 1981 through 1990, then later played for the California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, and Cleveland Indians.
Did You Know?
- Winfield was drafted by four teams in three different sports in 1973: the San Diego Padres (MLB), Atlanta Hawks (NBA), Utah Stars (ABA), and Minnesota Vikings (NFL).
- He is one of five players ever to be drafted by three professional sports and one of three athletes to be drafted by four leagues.
- On August 4, 1983, Winfield killed a seagull by throwing a ball during warmups in Toronto and was charged with cruelty to animals; charges were dropped the next day.
- In 1985, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner called Winfield 'Mr. May' after the Yankees lost the division title.
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