David Mark Winfield (born October 3, 1951) was one of the best players in Major League Baseball for two decades, and was involved in many well remembered incidents, some humorous and some controversial.
Winfield was born and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, earning a scholarship to the University of Minnesota, where he starred in both basketball and baseball for the Golden Gophers. After hitting and pitching the Gophers to the College World Series in 1973, he was drafted by the San Diego Padres, the Minnesota Vikings despite not playing college football, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Utah Stars of the ABA. He is one of only two men ever drafted in three different pro sports.
This person is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Winfield chose baseball, and gained another distinction when the Padres promoted him directly to the majors. This is a rare move in modern baseball, making him one of a select few players since the origins of the amateur draft in 1965 to make the leap straight to Major League Baseball without playing in the minor leagues first. But he proved up to the task, batting .277 in 56 games.
For the next several years, he was a good, but not great player in San Diego, gradually increasing his power and hits totals. He burst into stardom in 1979, when he batted .308 with 34 home runs and 118 RBI, then played one more season with the Padres before becoming a free agent.
