Dave Winfield

David Mark Winfield was born on October 3, 1951 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The San Diego Padres drafted him fourth overall out of the University of Minnesota in 1973. He was promoted directly to the Majors, and never played a day of minor league baseball during his 22-year professional career.

Winfield spent his first eight seasons in San Diego, making four All-Star teams and winning the Gold Glove twice as a right fielder. The New York Yankees signed him to a then-record ten year, $23 million free agent deal in December 1980. The $2.3 million average annual value more than doubled the previous record. He made eight more All-Star teams with the Yankees, adding several Silver Sluggers and Gold Gloves to his résumé.

New York won a Major League best 854 games during the 1980's, but they only reached the playoffs one time while Winfield was there. Outspoken owner George Steinbrenner publicly referred to him as "Mr. May" at one point, calling out his star for several disappointing stretches in September that caused his team to fall just shy of a postseason spot. The Yankees tried to trade Winfield several times during the duration of the contract, but he would keep invoking his no trade clause. It was often speculated that Winfield was refusing these trades simply to anger Steinbrenner. He was finally traded to the California Angels in 1990, his contract year, after the Angles offered him a $3.3 million extension that would keep him there in 1991.

Winfield signed with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992, driving in 108 runs and winning the Silver Slugger at designated hitter. He shook off the "Mr. May" nickname by delivering a game winning double in game six of the 1992 World Series. The pitcher was Charlie Leibrandt, who had allowed a walk-off home run against Kirby Puckett in game six of the previous World Series.

The Minnesota Twins signed Winfield as a free agent after the World Series. He hit .271 with 27 doubles, 21 home runs and 76 RBI during the 1993 campaign. Winfield mostly played designated hitter, while also adding 29 starts in right field and four at first base. Minnesota fell out of the playoff race, but Winfield kept fans interested with his chase for 3,000 hits. He reached the milestone on September 16th with an RBI single against Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley.

Father Time started to get the best of Winfield in 1994, with his OPS+ dropping below 100 for the first time in his historic career. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later or cash during the 1994 MLB strike, but the season never resumed. The deal was eventually settled when executives from both teams went out to dinner during the off-season, and the Cleveland executives picked up the tab. This makes Winfield the only known player in Major League history to be traded for a dinner.

He was 43 years and 311 days old when playing his final game for the Twins on August 10, 1994. This makes him the oldest position player in club history. Minnesota has used four older pitchers; Jesse Orosco, Bartolo Colon, Joe Niekro and Steve Carlton. Orosco is the oldest player in club history, pitching in a game at 46 years and 159 days old in 2003.

Winfield finally got to play for Cleveland in 1995, but his regression continued. He hit .191 over 46 games, spending chunks of time on the disabled list with various injuries. The Indians reached the World Series that fall, but Winfield was not included on the postseason roster.

He has kept busy in retirement, working as an analyst for both ESPN and Fox at different times. Winfield has also been a strong advocate for the inclusion on Negro League statistics in the Major League record books.

In 2008, he helped organize a draft of living Nergo League players. Each Major League club selected a former Negro League player to symbolically join their organization. The Twins selected William Bell, who pitched for the Kansas City Monarchs and Birmingham Black Barons in the late-40's and early-50's. Bell worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Des Moines, Iowa for over 30 years. He also coached several youth travel baseball teams. Bell passed away in 2021 at the age of 90.

• National Baseball Hall of Fame
• 1992 World Series champion
• 12x All-Star
• 6x Silver Slugger
• 7x Gold Glove
• 1992 NL RBI leader
• Oldest position player in Twins history
  • 43 years, 311 days on day of last game with Twins