#81 Dave Winfield

Dave Winfield
OF
1973-1995
12 Time All Star, 7 Gold Gloves
Baseball Hall of Fame

I was born in 1983. The first year I really followed baseball was 1990- but around 1989 I started to become aware. I remember the series earthquake etc. To jump start this my parents started buying me packs of 1989 Topps here and there. In my memory it's the first pack I ever got, but I can still see the card in my mind, I remember seeing Dave Winfield and my dad saying "he's good!". He's really the first player I knew was good.

Doing research for this you come across some crazy Paul Bunyan sounding stuff. He was drafted in 3 sports by 4 leagues (NBA, ABA, MLB, NFL). He was an All American pitcher at Minnesota and the outfield was his "other" position. He went straight to the major leagues...and stayed there for 22 years.

The man was a 12 time all star, won 7 gold gloves. His arm was one of the best in the game. He posted a lifetime .283 batting average and accumulated 3110 hits. 

In his early days in San Diego he grew into one of the best players of the game before signing at the time a ridiculous 10 year 23 million dollar contract with the New York Yankees. He was one of the top players in the American League for the bulk of that contract despite a bizarre public war that George Steinbrenner seemed intent on waging on him (which lead to Steinbrenner's suspension in 1990).

He would end up playing with the Angels, Blue Jays, Twins, and Indians to round out his career, finally winning a World Series with Toronto in 1992. 

He was inducted into Cooperstown in 2001 on his first ballot. "He's good"



Anthony Leonelli is a 37 year old College Baseball Coach and amateur baseball arguer. If you wanna know how this list came together check here criteria. He thinks that George Brett winning batting titles in 3 decades is pretty awesome. 

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