Editing Dave Winfield (section)

==Professional career==
===Draft and San Diego Padres (1973–1980)===
[[File:Dave Winfield - San Diego Padres.jpg|thumb|Winfield with the [[San Diego Padres]], {{c.|1977}}]]
Winfield chose baseball; the [[San Diego Padres]] selected him in the first round, with the fourth overall selection, of the [[1973 Major League Baseball draft|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 powerful arm. He [[batting average (baseball)|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 ability to hit for both power and average. In 1977, he appeared in his first All-Star game at [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]]. In 1978, he was named Padres team captain and in {{baseball year|1979}}, he batted .308 with 34 home runs and 118 [[runs batted in|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]] owner [[George Steinbrenner]] made Winfield the game's highest-paid player by signing him to a ten-year, $23 million contract (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|23|1980|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). Steinbrenner mistakenly thought he was signing Winfield for $16 million, unaware of the meaning of a cost-of-living clause in the contract,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/28/sports/baseball/28anderson.html| work=The New York Times | title=Steinbrenner's Rule: When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Blame an Agent | first=Dave | last=Anderson | date=February 28, 2005}}</ref> a misunderstanding that led to an infamous public feud.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/newyork/photos/gallery/_/id/9592789/image/7/steinbrenner-vs-dave-winfield-13-greatest-yankees-feuds |title=Steinbrenner vs. Dave Winfield – The 13 Greatest Yankees Feuds |publisher=ESPN |access-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref> The $2.3 million annual average value of the contract [[List of highest-paid Major League Baseball players#Salary progression|set a record]]. He more than doubled the previous record set when [[Nolan 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 [[1981 American League Division Series]], 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 [[1981 World Series|World Series]], which the Yankees lost to the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] in six games. After getting his only series hit, Winfield jokingly asked for the ball.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=E.M. |last=Swift |url=http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1067190/index.htm |title=Bringing their feud to a head, George Steinbrenner sought – 04.11.88 – SI Vault |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=April 11, 1988 |access-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref> Steinbrenner did not find this humorous, and criticized Winfield at the end of the series. Many commentators have since noted that Winfield's postseason 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]], who each only played three games with one combined RBI (the same as Winfield).

[[Image:winfieldspring.jpg|thumb|left|Winfield with the [[New York Yankees]] in 1983]]
Winfield did not let Steinbrenner's comments affect his play. He hit 37 home runs during the {{baseball year|1982}} season.

On August 4, {{baseball year|1983}}, Winfield killed a seagull by throwing a ball while warming up before the fifth inning of a game at Toronto's [[Exhibition Stadium]].<ref name="bluejayhunter.com">{{cite web|last=Hunter |first=Ian |url=http://www.bluejayhunter.com/2011/09/acid-flashback-friday-dave-winfield.html |title=Acid Flashback Friday: Dave Winfield Hits a Seagull |publisher=The Blue Jay Hunter |date=September 9, 2011 |access-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref> Fans responded by hurling obscenities and objects onto the field. After the game, he was brought to a nearby [[Toronto Police Service|Metropolitan Toronto Police]] station and charged with cruelty to animals. He was released after posting a [[Canadian dollar|$]]500 bond. Yankee manager [[Billy Martin]] quipped, "It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man all season."<ref name="bluejayhunter.com"/> Charges were dropped the following day.<ref>{{cite news|last = Gross | first = Jane | title = Winfield charges will be dropped | newspaper = The New York Times | page = 1.29 | date = August 6, 1983 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/06/sports/winfield-charges-will-be-dropped.html}}</ref> As Winfield missed the Yankees team bus to [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]] that night to catch their flight home, he was driven to Hamilton personally by Blue Jays general manager [[Pat Gillick]].<ref name="bluejayhunter.com"/> In the offseason, Winfield returned to Toronto and donated two paintings for an [[Easter Seals (Canada)|Easter Seals]] auction, which raised over $60,000.<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Field/1538/BackCat/BC50_59/winfield.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091023055058/http://geocities.com/Colosseum/Field/1538/BackCat/BC50_59/winfield.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 23, 2009|title=PROFILES: Dave Winfield|work=The Diamond Angle Archive|via=webcitation.org|access-date=December 15, 2018}}</ref> For years afterward, Winfield's appearances in Toronto were greeted by fans standing and flapping their arms.

From 1981 through {{baseball year|1984}}, Winfield was the most effective run producer in MLB.<ref>{{cite web |first=Murray |last=Chass |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-01-21/sports/8501020661_1_run-production-dave-winfield-majors |title=Winfield Really Does Produce |work=Sun Sentinel |date=January 21, 1985 |access-date=March 26, 2014 |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222035611/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-01-21/sports/8501020661_1_run-production-dave-winfield-majors |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1984, he and teammate [[Don Mattingly]] were in a race for the batting title<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Steve |last=Wulf |url=http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122556/index.htm |title=Teammates Dave Winfield and Don Mattingly are in a tight – 09.10.84 – SI Vault |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=September 10, 1984 |access-date=March 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222000925/http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122556/index.htm |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/in-new-york-wearing-a-dodgers-uniform-he-is-still-donnie-baseball-1.5521989 |title=Don Mattingly remains a fan favorite at Yankee Stadium |newspaper=Newsday |date=June 19, 2013 |access-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref> Winfield took this in stride, noting that a similar thing happened in 1961 when [[Mickey Mantle|Mantle]] and [[Roger Maris|Maris]] competed for the single season home run record.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats12b.shtml |title=Roger Maris 1961 Home Run Season |publisher=[[Baseball Almanac]] |access-date=August 21, 2010}}</ref>

In 1985, Steinbrenner derided Winfield by saying to ''[[The New York Times]]'' writer [[Murray Chass]], "Where is Reggie Jackson? We need a Mr. October or a Mr. September. Winfield is Mr. May."<ref name="murraychass.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.murraychass.com/?p=14 |title=Murray Chass On Baseball {{!}} Sorry, Harvey |publisher=[[Murray Chass]] |date=July 19, 2008 |access-date=August 21, 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref name="murraychass.com"/> The "Mr. May" [[sobriquet]] lived with Winfield until he won the [[1992 World Series]] with Toronto.<ref name="sabr.org"/>

Throughout the late 1980s, Steinbrenner regularly leaked derogatory and fictitious stories about Winfield to the press.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hammill |first=Stephen |url=http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2010/07/13/a-new-york-native-and-tampa-resident-remembers-the-george-steinbrenner-soap-opera#.UvL__P-A11s |title=A New York native and Tampa resident remembers the George Steinbrenner soap opera |work=Creative Loafing Tampa |date=July 13, 2010 |access-date=March 27, 2014}}</ref> 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, five 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 {{baseball year|1988}}, and was selected to play in the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] every season. Winfield won five (of his seven) [[Gold Glove Award]]s for his stellar outfield play as a Yankee.

In 1989, Winfield missed the entire season due to a back injury.<ref name="Chicago Tribune">{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/05/17/winfield-agrees-to-join-angels/ |title=Winfield Agrees To Join Angels|work=Chicago Tribune |date=May 17, 1990 |access-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref> {{baseball year|1990}} 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 against left-handed pitchers. On May 11, manager [[Bucky Dent]] and general manager [[Pete Peterson (baseball)|Pete Peterson]] met in a room with the intent of stating a trade of Winfield for [[Mike Witt]] of the [[Los Angeles Angels|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]] for his apparent connections to [[Howard Spira]], a known gambler with supposed [[American Mafia|Mafia]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://static.espn.go.com/mlb/news/2000/0201/328408.html |title=MLB – Union challenges Rocker suspension with grievance |publisher=ESPN |date=February 1, 2000 |access-date=August 21, 2010}}</ref> However, the suspension lasted only two years.<ref name="Chicago Tribune"/>

===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]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Plaschke |first=Bill |date=1990-10-20 |title=Offerman Cited and Promoted |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-offerman-cited-and/148872509/ |access-date=2024-06-07 |work=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |pages=C9}}</ref> He [[hit for the cycle]] in June 1991 against the Kansas City Royals, hitting 5-for-5 in the game.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/25/sports/baseball-winfield-hits-for-the-cycle.html|title=BASEBALL; Winfield Hits for the Cycle|agency=Associated Press|date=June 25, 1991|work=The New York Times}}</ref> He also recorded his 400th home run against the Twins in his hometown.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-15-sp-634-story.html|title=No Place Like This for Winfield's 400th : Angels: He becomes 23rd player to reach home run milestone, doing it in the area where he grew up.|first=Robyn|last=Norwood|date=August 15, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

===Toronto Blue Jays (1992)===
Winfield was still a productive hitter after his 40th birthday. On December 19, {{baseball year|1991}}, he signed with the [[Toronto Blue Jays]] 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 {{baseball year|1992}} 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 [[1992 World Series|World Series]], he became "Mr. Jay"<ref name="sabr.org"/> as he delivered the game-winning two-run double in the 11th inning off [[Atlanta Braves|Atlanta]]'s [[Charlie Leibrandt]] to win the [[World Series Trophy|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]] and [[Enos Slaughter]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures|year=2008|page=[https://archive.org/details/greatbaseballfea00davi/page/367 367]|first1=David|last1=Nemec|first2=Scott|last2=Flatow|publisher=Penguin Group|location=New York|isbn=978-0-451-22363-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/greatbaseballfea00davi/page/367}}</ref>

===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 {{baseball year|1993}} Twins, mostly as their [[designated hitter]]. On September 16, 1993, at age 41, he collected his [[3,000 hit club|3,000th career hit]] with a single off [[Oakland Athletics]] [[closer (baseball)|closer]] [[Dennis Eckersley]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/3000_hit_club/winfield_dave.htm |title=The 3,000 Hit Club: Dave Winfield |publisher=Baseball Hall of Fame |date=September 16, 1993 |access-date=August 21, 2010}}</ref>

During the [[1994 baseball strike]], which began on August 12, Winfield was traded to the [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland Indians]] at the trade waiver deadline on August 31 for a [[player to be named later]]. 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 (although official sources list the transaction as Winfield having been sold by the Twins to the Indians).<ref>{{cite news | last = Keegan | first = Tom | author-link = Tom Keegan | title = Owners try on global thinking cap | newspaper = [[The Baltimore Sun]] | page = 2C | date = September 11, 1994}}</ref>

===Cleveland Indians (1995)===
Winfield, who was the oldest player in MLB at the time, was again granted free agency in October but re-signed with the Indians as spring training began in April {{baseball year|1995}}. A [[rotator cuff]] injury kept him on the disabled list for most of the season, thus he played in only 46 games and hit .191 for [[1995 Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland's first pennant winner in 41 years]]. He did not participate in the Indians' postseason.

===Honors and awards===
[[File:DaveWinfieldbyMarioCasciano.jpg|thumb|Winfield at his Hall of Fame induction in 2001]]
Winfield retired in {{baseball year|1996}} and, in his first year of eligibility, was inducted into the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in {{baseball year|2001}} 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/classic/s/2001/0805/1235646.html|title=ESPN Classic – Detente? Winfield gives thanks to the Boss|publisher=ESPN|access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090114121104/http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/media/player/mp_tpl.jsp?w=http%3A//mfile.akamai.com/31386/wmv/mlb.download.akamai.com/31386/open/members/winfield_d/hof_induction_speech_winfield_400.wmv&type=v_free&_mp=1 Media Player], Baseball Hall of Fame</ref>

In 1998, Winfield was inducted by the [[San Diego Hall of Champions]] into the Breitbard Hall of Fame, honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sdhoc.com/awards/hall-of-fame/baseball/dave-winfield/ |title=Dave Winfield |publisher=San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum |access-date=August 21, 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091002174547/http://www.sdhoc.com/awards/hall-of-fame/baseball/dave-winfield/ |archive-date=October 2, 2009 }}</ref>
[[File:San Diego Padres retired 31.jpg|thumb|Winfield's No. 31, [[San Diego Padres retired numbers|retired by the Padres]], displayed at [[Petco Park]]]]
In {{baseball year|1999}}, Winfield ranked number 94 on ''The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/lisn100.shtml |title=100 Greatest Baseball Players by The Sporting News : A Legendary List by Baseball Almanac |publisher=Baseball-almanac.com |access-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref> and was a nominee for the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]].

He was inducted into the [[San Diego Padres Hall of Fame]] in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |title=Padres Hall of Fame |publisher=Major League Baseball |url=http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/sd/history/sd_padres_hof.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816175529/http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/sd/history/sd_padres_hof.jsp |archive-date=August 16, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[San Diego Padres retired numbers|Padres retired]] Winfield's No. 31 on April 14, 2001.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/77004570.html?dids=77004570:77004570&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+03%2C+2001&author=Mel+Antonen&pub=USA+TODAY&desc=How+to+cap+career+is+hard+call+Winfield+picks+the+Padres+for+his+plaque+in+Cooperstown&pqatl=google | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713001130/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/77004570.html?dids=77004570:77004570&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+03,+2001&author=Mel+Antonen&pub=USA+TODAY&desc=How+to+cap+career+is+hard+call+Winfield+picks+the+Padres+for+his+plaque+in+Cooperstown&pqatl=google | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 13, 2012 | work=USA Today | first=Mel | last=Antonen | title=How to cap career is hard call Winfield picks the Padres for his plaque in Cooperstown | date=August 3, 2001 }}</ref>

On July 4, {{baseball year|2006}}, Winfield was inducted into the [[College Baseball Hall of Fame]] in its inaugural class.

In 2010, Winfield was selected as one of 28 members of the NCAA Men's College World Series Legends Team.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 6, 2010 |title=NCAA And CWS, INC., Announce College World Series Legends Team |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/PressArchive/2010/20100506+legends+team+release.htm |access-date=August 21, 2010 |publisher=NCAA}}</ref>

The [[Big Ten Network]] named Winfield its #15 ranked Big Ten Conference "Icon" in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://btn.com/2010/10/19/big-ten-icons-dave-winfield/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318214441/http://btn.com/2010/10/19/big-ten-icons-dave-winfield/|title=Big Ten Icons: Dave Winfield|archive-date=March 18, 2015|work=Big Ten Network|date=October 19, 2010|access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref>

The [[2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|2016 MLB All-Star Game]], played at [[Petco Park]] in San Diego, was dedicated to Winfield. He had represented the Padres at the [[1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|first All-Star Game to be played in San Diego]].

On June 21, 2024, Winfield returned to [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]] for the unveiling of a bronze statue near [[Growden Memorial Park|Growden Park]], where he had played for the [[Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks]]. Winfield also threw out the ceremonial [[Ceremonial first pitch|first pitch]] for the annual [[Midnight Sun Game]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-21 |title=Hall-of-Famer David Winfield in Fairbanks to see his statue unveiled Friday |url=https://fm.kuac.org/sports/2024-06-21/hall-of-famer-david-winfield-in-fairbanks-to-see-his-statue-unveiled-friday |access-date=2024-06-23 |website=KUAC.org |language=en}}</ref>