Happy Birthday to Dave Winfield, Hall of Fame Right Fielder. In a career that lasted twenty-three seasons, he had his best seasons with the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees. He also made four other stops with the California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, and Cleveland Indians.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1973-1995):

.283 BA 3,110 HITS 465 HR 1,833 RBI 1,669 RUNS .353 OBP

  • 12x All-Star
  •  7x Gold Glove
  •  6x Silver Slugger
  •  1994 Roberto Clemente Award
  •  1992 World Series Champion

He was drafted by the Padres 4th overall in 1973, so he didn’t play one game in the Minor Leagues. The Padres, who were desperate, felt that Winfields’ bat was powerful enough for the Major League level. Winfield would go on to drive in 100 or more RBIs eight times and in 1,833 career-wise, so the Padres made the right choice. You may look at Dave Winfield and say, “Hey, the guy played 23 years, so why wouldn’t he have great lifetime numbers?” You have to give Winfield credit for his years with the Padres; he put up some great seasons on a ballclub that only had one winning season during his years in San Diego. In 1979, Winfield finished 3rd in the MVP voting; between the 118 RBIs and the 97 RUNS, he was responsible for 215 of the Padres’ 603 Runs scored that year. Defensively, Dave Winfield took home seven Gold Gloves in Right Field while having a career Fielding Percentage of .984 throughout 15,960 Innings. 

Winfield is one of the most athletic players ever to play. In 1973, he was drafted by the NBA Atlanta Hawks and the NFL Minnesota Vikings out of the University of Minnesota. When you are athletic like Winfield, it gives you an advantage to play a long time at a high level. Two of Winfield’s 100 RBI seasons came after age 35 when most players are in decline. One of those years was in 1992 with the Blue Jays, and at the age 40, Winfield won the World Series in his twentieth season. Overall, a career with well over 3,000 Hits and 1,500 RBIs, a 12x All-Star, and an overall great all-around player for over 20 years was his ticket into the Hall of Fame. In 2001, Winfield was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot and was the first to wear a Padre hat in the Hall. The Padres also retired his #31 uniform that year. In 1999, he was ranked #96 on The Sporting News list of 100 Greatest Ballplayers.

References: 

  1. Dave Winfield via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Winfield#
  2. Dave Winfield Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/winfida01.shtml