David Mark Winfield (born October 3, 1951) is an American former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB)
right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...
. He is the special assistant to the executive director of the
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union representing all current Major League Baseball players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held a signed contract with a Major League cl ...
. Over his 22-year career, he played for six teams: the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
,
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
,
California Angels,
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
,
Minnesota Twins, and
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
. He had the winning hit in the
1992 World Series
The 1992 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1992 season. The 89th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Toronto Blue Jays and the Na ...
with the Blue Jays over the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
.
Winfield is a 12-time
MLB All-Star
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...
, a seven-time
Gold Glove Award winner, and a six-time
Silver Slugger Award
The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball.
These voters co ...
winner. The Padres
retired
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
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
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
named him the third-best all-around
athlete of all time in any sport. He is a member of both the
Baseball Hall of Fame and
College Baseball Hall of Fame
The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...
.
Early life
Winfield grew up in
St. Paul, Minnesota. 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 of aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins.
[''Winfield: A Player's Life'' autobiography] The Winfield brothers honed their athletic skills in St. Paul's Oxford playground, where coach Bill Peterson was one of the first to notice Winfield. Winfield did not become a formidable 6'6" athlete until his senior year at
Saint Paul Central High School
Saint Paul Central High School is the oldest high school in the state of Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866 in downtown Saint Paul, Central has educated many leaders in business, government, literature, arts, sciences, and education through ...
.
College career
He earned a full baseball scholarship to the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
in 1969, where he starred in
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
for the
Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...
. Winfield's 1972 Minnesota team won a
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
basketball championship, the school's first sole outright championship in 53 years. During the 1972 season, he also was
involved in a brawl when Minnesota played Ohio State.
Winfield also played college summer baseball for the
Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks
The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are a collegiate summer baseball team which was founded in 1960 as an independent barnstorming team. The Goldpanners were charter members of the Alaska Baseball League at the league's inception in 1974. The ...
for two seasons (1971–72) and was the MVP in 1972. In 1973, he was named All-American and voted MVP of the
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
—as a pitcher. Following college, Winfield was drafted by four teams in three different sports. The San Diego Padres selected him as a pitcher with the fourth overall pick in the MLB draft. Winfield was also drafted by the
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
(NBA) in the 5th round of the
1973 NBA Draft
The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...
and by the
Utah Stars
The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround.
History prior to moving t ...
(ABA) in the 6th round of the
1973 ABA Draft
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
. Though he never played
college football, the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
selected Winfield in the 17th round of the
1973 NFL Draft. He is one of six players ever to be drafted by three professional sports (the others being
George Carter,
Jo Jo White
Joseph Henry White (November 16, 1946 – January 16, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. As an amateur, he played basketball at the University of Kansas, where he was named a second-team All-American twice. White was part o ...
,
Noel Jenke
Noel Charles Jenke (December 17, 1946 – July 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for three different teams during the 1971 through 1974 seasons. Before pl ...
,
Mickey McCarty and
Dave Logan) and one of three athletes along with Carter and McCarty to be drafted by four leagues.
Professional career
Draft and San Diego Padres (1973–1980)
Winfield chose baseball; the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
selected him in the first round, with the fourth overall selection, of the
1973 MLB draft. Winfield 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, where he could still use his "rifle arm." He
batted .277 in 56 games his first season.
Over the next several years, he developed into an All-Star player in San Diego, gradually increasing his power and hits totals. In 1977, he appeared in his first All-Star game at
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
. In 1978, he was named Padres team captain and in , he batted .308 with 34 home runs and 118
RBI. He played one more season with the Padres before becoming a free agent.
New York Yankees (1981–1990)
In December 1980,
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
owner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...
made Winfield the game's highest-paid player by signing him to a ten-year, $23 million contract (equivalent to $ million in ). Steinbrenner mistakenly thought he was signing Winfield for $16 million, unaware of the meaning of a cost-of-living clause in the contract a misunderstanding that led to an infamous public feud. The $2.5 million annual average value of the contract
set a record. He more than doubled the previous record set when
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...
signed with the
Houston Astros in 1979.
Winfield was among the highest-rated players in the game throughout his Yankee contract. He was a key factor in leading the Yankees to the 1981 American League pennant. In the exciting
1981 American League Division Series
The 1981 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 1981 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 6, and ended on Sunday, October 11. The Division Series were approved by team owners on August 6 in response to th ...
, Winfield batted .350 with two doubles and a triple and made some important defensive plays helping the Yankees to victory over the
Milwaukee Brewers. Unfortunately, Winfield had a sub-par
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
, which the Yankees lost to the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
in six games. After getting his only series hit, Winfield jokingly asked for the ball. Steinbrenner did not find this humorous, and criticized Winfield at the end of the series. Many commentators have since noted that Winfield's post-season doldrums were somewhat overstated when compared to those of his teammates. Four of his seven hits came in games won by the Yankees. The team's offense for the most part was inconsistent, and they were also set back by key injuries to
Reggie Jackson and
Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944), nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians (1970–1972), New York Yankee ...
, who each only played three games with one combined RBI (the same as Winfield).
Winfield did not let Steinbrenner's antics affect his play. He hit 37 home runs in a spectacular season.
On August 4, , Winfield killed a seagull by throwing a ball while warming up before the fifth inning of a game at Toronto's
Exhibition Stadium
Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally built for Canadian National E ...
.
Fans responded by hurling obscenities and improvised missiles. After the game, he was brought to a nearby
Metropolitan Toronto Police
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...
station and charged with cruelty to animals. He was released after posting a
$500 bond. Yankee manager
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...
quipped, "It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man all season."
Charges were dropped the following day. As Winfield missed the Yankees team bus to
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
that night to catch their flight home, he was driven to Hamilton personally by Blue Jays general manager
Pat Gillick
Lawrence Patrick David Gillick (born August 22, 1937) is an American professional baseball executive. He previously served as the general manager of four MLB teams: the Toronto Blue Jays (1978–1994), Baltimore Orioles (1996–1998), Seattle Ma ...
.
In the offseason, Winfield returned to Toronto and donated two paintings for an
Easter Seals auction, which raised over $60,000.
For years afterward, Winfield's appearances in Toronto were greeted by fans standing and flapping their arms—until the 1992 season when being signed by Gillick for the Blue Jays where Winfield became a fan favorite.
From 1981 through , Winfield was the most effective run producer in MLB. In 1984, he and teammate
Don Mattingly
Donald Arthur Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed ...
were in a memorable race for the batting title in which Mattingly won out by .003 points on the last day of the season; Winfield finished with a .340 average. In the last few weeks of the race, it became obvious to most observers that the fans were partial to Mattingly. Winfield took this in stride noting that a similar thing happened in 1961 when
Mantle and
Maris competed for the single season home run record.
In 1985, Steinbrenner derided Winfield by saying to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' writer
Murray Chass
Murray Chass (born October 12, 1938, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American baseball blogger. He previously wrote for '' The New York Times'' and before that the Associated Press on baseball and sports legal and labor relations. In 2003 the ...
, "Where is Reggie Jackson? We need a Mr. October or a Mr. September. Winfield is Mr. May."
This criticism has become somewhat of an
anachronism as many cite the statement to Steinbrenner after the 1981 World Series. Winfield was struggling while the Yankees eventually lost the division title to Toronto on the second to last day of the season.
The "Mr. May"
sobriquet
A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...
lived with Winfield until he won the
1992 World Series
The 1992 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1992 season. The 89th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Toronto Blue Jays and the Na ...
with Toronto.
Throughout the late 1980s, Steinbrenner regularly leaked derogatory and fictitious stories about Winfield to the press. He also forced Yankee managers to move him down in the batting order and bench him. Steinbrenner frequently tried to trade him, but Winfield's status as a 10-and-5 player (10 years in the majors, 5 years with a single team) meant he could not be traded without his consent. Winfield continued to put up excellent numbers with the Yankees, driving in 744 runs between 1982 and , and was selected to play in the
All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
every season. Winfield won five (of his seven)
Gold Glove Awards for his stellar outfield play as a Yankee.
In 1989, Winfield missed the entire season due to a back injury.
was the last year of his contract with the Yankees, but the troubles with Steinbrenner in his feud with Winfield continued to escalate. He had a rusty spring training before being relegated from the field to being the designated hitter. Further troubles led to being just the DH for left-handed pitchers. On May 11, manager
Bucky Dent
Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent (born Russell Earl O'Dey; November 25, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978 and ...
and general manager
Pete Peterson
Douglas Brian "Pete" Peterson (born June 26, 1935) is an American politician and diplomat. He served as a United States Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War and spent over six years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese army after his plane w ...
met in a room with the intent of stating a trade of Winfield for
Mike Witt of the
California Angels. Winfield stepped in the room and stated his refusal to be traded; the argument over whether his 10-and-5 rights overrode his list of having the Angels on his trade list failed to meet at an impasse when Angels owner
Gene Autry came in with a three-year extension. He proceeded to hit 19 home runs in 112 games for the Angels in the remainder of the 1990 season. As for Steinbrenner, he attempted to curry favor by stating to Winfield that he would welcome back Winfield openly if he had won the arbitration case; by this point in the month of May, he was already under investigation by commissioner
Fay Vincent
Francis Thomas Vincent Jr. (born May 29, 1938), known as Fay Vincent, is a former entertainment lawyer, securities regulator, and sports executive who served as the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from September 13, 1989 to Septembe ...
for his apparent connections to
Howard Spira
Howard "Howie" Spira is an American gambler and convicted felon who was central to Fay Vincent's decision to ban George Steinbrenner from baseball during the 1990s. In 1991 he was convicted of trying to extort $110,000 from Steinbrenner and spent o ...
, a known gambler with supposed
Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
connections, whom he had paid $40,000 for embarrassing information on Winfield. A month later, the team received a fine that required them to pay money to the league and the Angels for tampering and Steinbrenner soon received a life-time ban. However, the suspension lasted only two years.
California Angels (1990–1991)
Winfield was traded for
Mike Witt during the 1990 season and won the
Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award
''The Sporting News'' Comeback Player of the Year Award is the oldest of three annual awards in Major League Baseball given to one player in each league who has reemerged as a star in that season. It was established in 1965. The winner in each le ...
. He
hit for the cycle
In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League B ...
in June 1991 against the Kansas City Royals, hitting 5 for 5 in the game. He also recorded his 400th home run against the Twins in his hometown.
Toronto Blue Jays (1992)
Winfield was still a productive hitter after his 40th birthday. On December 19, , he signed with the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
as their designated hitter, and also made "Winfieldian" plays when he periodically took his familiar position in right field. He batted .290 with 26 home runs and 108 RBI during the season.
Winfield proved to be a lightning rod for the Blue Jays, providing leadership and experience as well as his potent bat. Winfield was a fan favorite and also demanded fan participation. In August 1992, he made an impassioned plea to the reserved fans during an interview for more crowd noise. The phrase "Winfield Wants Noise" became a popular slogan for the rest of the season, appearing on T-shirts, dolls, buttons, and signs.
The Blue Jays won the pennant, giving Winfield a chance at redemption for his previous post-season futility. In Game 6 of the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
, he became "Mr. Jay"
as he delivered the game-winning two-run double in the 11th inning off
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
's
Charlie Leibrandt
Charles Louis Leibrandt, Jr. (; born October 4, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1979 to 1993 for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, and Texas Rangers. Leibrandt was a productive pitcher thr ...
to win the
World Series Championship for Toronto. At 41 years of age, Winfield became the third-oldest player to hit an extra base hit in the World Series, trailing only
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...
and
Enos Slaughter
Enos Bradsher Slaughter (April 27, 1916 – August 12, 2002), nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He played for 19 seasons on four major league teams from 1938 to 1942 and 1946 to 1959. He is noted prima ...
.
Minnesota Twins (1993–1994)
After the 1992 season, Winfield was granted free agency and signed with his hometown
Minnesota Twins. In 1993, he batted .271 with 21 home runs, appearing in 143 games for the Twins, mostly as their
designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...
. On September 16, 1993, at age 41, he collected his
3,000th career hit with a single off
Oakland Athletics closer Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...
.
During the
1994 baseball strike
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, which began on August 12, Winfield was traded to the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
at the trade waiver deadline on August 31 for a
player to be named later
In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...
. The 1994 season had been halted two weeks earlier (it was eventually canceled a month later on September 14), so Winfield did not get to play for the Indians that year and no player was ever named in exchange. To settle the trade, Cleveland and Minnesota executives went to dinner, with the Indians picking up the tab. This makes Winfield the only player in major league history to be "traded" for a dinner (though official sources list the transaction as Winfield having been sold by the
Minnesota Twins to the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
).
Cleveland Indians (1995)
Winfield, who was now the oldest MLB player, was again granted free agency in October but re-signed with the Indians as spring training began in April . A
rotator cuff
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...
injury kept him on the disabled list for most of the season; thus he played in only 46 games and hit .191 for Cleveland's first pennant winner in 41 years. He did not participate in the Indians' postseason.
Honors and awards
![San Diego Padres retired 31](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/San_Diego_Padres_retired_31.jpg)
Winfield retired in and, in his first year of eligibility, was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in as a San Diego Padre, the first Padre to be so honored. The move reportedly irked Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner, however Winfield sounded a conciliatory note toward him, saying, "He's said he regrets a lot of things that happened. We're fine now. Things have changed."
In 1998, Winfield was inducted by the
San Diego Hall of Champions
The San Diego Hall of Champions was an American multi-sport museum in San Diego, California until its closure in June 2017. The Hall of Champions housed the Breitbard Hall of Fame - San Diego's sports hall of fame - which is now located at Petco P ...
into the Breitbard Hall of Fame, honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.
In , Winfield ranked number 94 on ''The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players'', and was a nominee for the
Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
He was inducted into the
San Diego Padres Hall of Fame
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team in Major League Baseball (MLB) based in San Diego, California. The club was founded in 1969 as part of the league's expansion. The team's hall of fame, created in 1999 to honor the cl ...
in 2000. The
Padres retired Winfield's No. 31 on April 14, 2001.
On July 4, , Winfield was inducted into the
College Baseball Hall of Fame
The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...
in its inaugural class.
In 2010, Winfield was selected as one of 28 members of the NCAA Men's College World Series Legends Team.
The Big Ten Network named Winfield its #15 ranked Big Ten Conference "Icon" in 2010.
The
2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 87th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the San Diego Padres and was played at Petco Park on July 12, 2016. It was televised nationally on Fox. The Ame ...
, played at
Petco Park in San Diego, was dedicated to Winfield. He had represented the Padres at the
first All-Star Game to be played in San Diego.
Life since retirement
In 1996, Winfield joined the new
Major League Baseball on Fox
''MLB on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox MLB'') is an American presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports, the sports division of the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), since June 1, 1996. The broadcaster has aired the Worl ...
program as studio analyst for their Saturday MLB coverage.
From 2001 to 2013, Winfield served as executive vice president/senior advisor of the San Diego Padres.
In 2006, Winfield teamed up with conductor Bob Thompson to create The Baseball Music Project, a series of concerts that celebrate the history of baseball, with Winfield serving as host and narrator.
In 2008, Winfield participated in both the final Old Timer's Day ceremony and Final game ceremony at Yankee Stadium.
On June 5, ,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
held a special draft of the surviving
Negro league
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
players to acknowledge and rectify their exclusion from the major leagues on the basis of race. The idea of the special draft was conceived by Winfield. Each major league team drafted one player from the Negro leagues.
On March 31, 2009, Winfield joined
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
as an analyst on their ''
Baseball Tonight
''Baseball Tonight'' (stylized as ''Baseball Tonight presented by Chevrolet'' for sponsorship reasons) is an American television program that airs on ESPN. The show, which covers the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since ...
'' program.
On December 5, 2013, Winfield was named special assistant to Executive Director
Tony Clark
Anthony Christopher Clark (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional baseball player and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1995 to 2009 and is the sixth executive director of the Major League Baseball P ...
at the Major League Baseball Players Association.
On July 14, 2014, Winfield returned to Minnesota to throw out the first pitch at the 2014 Home Run Derby along with fellow St. Paul natives
Joe Mauer
Joseph Patrick Mauer (born April 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman, who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. A six-time All-Star, Mauer is the only c ...
,
Paul Molitor
Paul Leo Molitor (born August 22, 1956), nicknamed "Molly" and "the Ignitor", is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and former manager of the Minnesota Twins, who is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. During his 21-year baseball car ...
, and
Jack Morris
John Scott Morris (born May 16, 1955) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers. Morris won 254 games throughout his career.
Armed ...
.
In March 2016, Winfield helped represent Major League Baseball in Cuba during President Obama's trip to the island in an attempt to help normalize relations. On March 21 he gave a press conference with Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, and Luis Tiant in Havana and attended the baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuba National Team the next day.
Winfield resides in California with his wife Tonya, and three children, Shanel and twins David II and Arielle.
Other media
During the 1994–95 MLB strike, Winfield and a handful of other striking players appeared as themselves in the November 27, 1994, episode of ''
Married With Children
''Married... with Children'' is an American television sitcom created by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt for Fox. Originally broadcast from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997, it is the longest-lasting live-action sitcom that aired on Fox. ''Marr ...
'' (Season 9, Episode 11).
The David M. Winfield Foundation
Well known for his philanthropic work, Winfield was the first active athlete to create a philanthropic foundation. He began giving back to the communities in which he played from 1973, his first year with the Padres, when he began buying blocks of tickets to Padres games for families who could not afford to go to games, in a program known as "pavilions." Winfield then added health clinics to the equation, by partnering with San Diego's
Scripps Clinic who had a mobile clinic which was brought into the stadium parking lot.
When Winfield joined the Toronto Blue Jays, he learned teammate
David Wells
David Lee Wells (born May 20, 1963) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Boomer", Wells was considered on ...
was one of the "Winfield kids" who attended Padres games.
[Winfield Foundation: The First 20 Years publication]
In his hometown of St. Paul, he began a scholarship program (which continues to this day). In 1977, he organized his efforts into an official
501(c)(3) charitable organization known as the David M. Winfield Foundation for Underprivileged Youth.
As his salary increased, Foundation programs expanded to include holiday dinner giveaways and national scholarships. In 1978, San Diego hosted the All-Star game, and Winfield bought his usual block of pavilion tickets. Winfield then went on a local radio station and inadvertently invited "all the kids of San Diego" to attend. To accommodate the unexpected crowd, the Foundation brought the kids into batting practice. The All-Star open-practice has since been adopted by
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
and continues to this day.
When Winfield joined the New York Yankees, he set aside $3 million of his contracted salary for the Winfield Foundation. The foundation created a partnership with the
Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) is a 781-bed non-profit, research and teaching hospital providing tertiary and healthcare needs located seven miles (11 km) west of New York City, in Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey. As ...
including founding The Dave Winfield Nutrition Center,
near his
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...
, home. The Foundation also partnered with
Merck
Merck refers primarily to the German Merck family and three companies founded by the family, including:
* the Merck Group, a German chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company founded in 1668
** Merck Serono (known as EMD Serono in the Unite ...
Pharmaceuticals and created an internationally acclaimed bilingual substance abuse prevention program called "Turn it Around".
![Derek Jeter and Dave Winfield](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Derek_Jeter_and_Dave_Winfield.jpg)
The Winfield Foundation also became a bone of contention in Steinbrenner's public feud with Winfield. Steinbrenner alleged that the foundation was mishandling funds and often held back payments to the organization, which resulted in long, costly court battles. It also created the appearance that Steinbrenner was contributing to the foundation, when in actuality, Steinbrenner was holding back a portion of Winfield's salary. Ultimately, the foundation received all of its funding and the alleged improprieties proved unfounded.
Winfield's philanthropic endeavors had as much influence on many of MLB's players as his on-field play. Yankee
Derek Jeter, who grew up idolizing Winfield for both his athleticism and humanitarianism, credits Winfield as the inspiration for his own
Turn 2 Foundation
Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...
. In turn, Winfield continues to help raise funds and awareness for Jeter's Foundation and for many other groups and causes throughout the country.
Quotes
*''Now it's on to May, and you know about me and May.''
—after setting an American League record for RBI in April 1988.
*''I am truly sorry that a fowl of Canada is no longer with us.''
—to the press after being released following the 1983 bird-killing incident.
*''These days baseball is different. You come to spring training, you get your legs ready, your arms loose, your agents ready, your lawyer lined up.''
—at spring training, 1988, in response to his on-going feud with Steinbrenner.
*''I have no problem with
Bruce Springsteen.''—when asked by the ''
New York Daily News'' why he has such a problematic relationship with "the Boss" (a
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
shared by both Springsteen and Steinbrenner).
*''"Three-ninety-nine sounds like something you'd purchase at a discount store. Four hundred sounds so much better.''
—upon hitting his 400th home run after 10 days mired at 399.
See also
*
3,000 hit club
The 3,000 hit club is the group of 33 batters who have collected 3,000 or more regular-season hits in their careers in Major League Baseball (MLB), achieving a milestone "long considered the greatest measure of superior bat handling" and often de ...
*
List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
In baseball, completing the cycle is the accomplishment of hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. In terms of frequency, the cycle is roughly as common as a no-hitter; '' Baseball Digest'' calls it "one of th ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
In baseball, a double is a hit in which the batter advances to second base in one play, with neither the benefit of a fielding error nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice. A batter may also be credited with a ground-rule double w ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
This is a list of Major League Baseball players who have compiled 1,000 runs batted in (RBIs). RBIs are usually accumulated when a batter in baseball enables a runner on base (including himself, in the case of a home run) to score as a result of ma ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
Listed are all Major League Baseball (MLB) players with 1,000 or more career runs scored. Players in bold face are active as of the 2022 Major League Baseball season.
Key
List
*Stats updated through the 2022 season.
Through the end of the ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
Below is the list of the 286 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit milestone during their career in MLB. Pete Rose holds the Major League record for most career hits, with 4,256. Rose and Ty Cobb, second most, are the only ...
*
List of Major League Baseball home run records
This is a list of some of the records relating to home runs hit in baseball games played in the Major Leagues. Some Major League records are sufficiently notable to have their own page, for example the single-season home run record, the progress ...
*
List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
In baseball, a run batted in (RBI) is awarded to a Batting (baseball), batter for each Baserunning, runner who Run (baseball), scores as a result of the batter's action, including a Hit (baseball), hit, fielder's choice, sacrifice fly, bases loade ...
*
List of Major League Baseball retired numbers
Major League Baseball (MLB) and its participating clubs have retired various uniform numbers over the course of time, ensuring that those numbers are never worn again and thus will always be associated with particular players or managers of n ...
*
List of athletes on Wheaties boxes
In 1934, the breakfast cereal Wheaties began the practice of including pictures of athletes on its packaging to coincide with its slogan, "The Breakfast of Champions." In its original form, athletes were depicted on the sides or back of the ce ...
*
List of multi-sport athletes
A multi-sport athlete is an athlete who competes or trains two or more different sports. Most of these athletes played two or more sports from a young age – especially in high school – before deciding to usually concentrate on just one sport p ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
This is a list of the 300 Major League Baseball players who have hit the most home runs.
In the sport of baseball, a home run is a hit in which the batter scores by circling all the bases and reaching home plate in one play, without the benefit ...
*
Major League Baseball Player of the Month
References
Notes
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Dave Winfieldat SABR (Baseball BioProject)
*Dave Winfield
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winfield, Dave
1951 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American League All-Stars
American Lutherans
American men's basketball players
Atlanta Hawks draft picks
Baseball players from Saint Paul, Minnesota
Basketball players from Saint Paul, Minnesota
California Angels players
Cleveland Indians players
National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners
Gold Glove Award winners
Major League Baseball broadcasters
Major League Baseball designated hitters
Major League Baseball left fielders
Major League Baseball players with retired numbers
Major League Baseball right fielders
Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball players
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players
Minnesota Twins players
National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
National League All-Stars
National League RBI champions
New York Yankees players
People of the African Methodist Episcopal church
San Diego Padres players
Silver Slugger Award winners
Toronto Blue Jays players
Utah Stars draft picks
Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players