San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
WINFIELD A TWO-WAY STAR BEFORE MLB WAS READY
It would be a no-brainer now, especially given the success of the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani.
But a half century ago, a two-way player in the major leagues was never a consideration, not even for the penurious Padres.
Dave Winfield, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound two-way star, was more accomplished as a right-handed pitcher than a hitter when the Padres drafted him in 1973 out of the University of Minnesota.
He would become one of the most accomplished hitters in major league history. Never taking the mound in the majors may be the only regret of Winfield’s 22-year Hall of Fame career.
“Shohei Ohtani is doing today what I was doing back then,” Winfield said by phone this week. “The teams didn’t have the foresight or the vision or the inspiration then.”
It’s no wonder that when he arrived in San Diego, Winfield believed he could be a two-way player, telling The San Diego Union then: “I really think I could do either. But they think of me as an outfielder, so that’s what I’ll be.”
Winfield isn’t complaining about the decision.
“When I look back, first of all, I really appreciated the opportunity just to play there in San Diego,” Winfield said. “It was tough because we didn’t win a lot of games, but that’s who brought me to the dance, so to speak.”
It all began 50 years ago Monday — June 19, 1973 — when Winfield debuted against the Houston Astros at San Diego Stadium.
Winfield had plenty of options. Also a starting forward on the Minnesota basketball team, Winfield was drafted by the NBA’S Atlanta Hawks and the ABA’S Utah Stars. Winfield never played a down of college football, but the NFL came calling, too. The Minnesota Vikings drafted him as a potential tight end.
But his future was playing baseball — and not once every five days.
“We want him as an everyday player,” Bob Fontaine, the Padres’ player personnel director, said at the time. “With his ability to run and hit and throw, we think he would be more of an asset in the lineup every day.”
Before Winfield could sign with the Padres, there was the matter of leading Minnesota into the College World Series.
Winfield beat Oklahoma in one game, striking out 14 batters in a 1-0 win over the Sooners.
In the semifinals against USC, Winfield limited a Trojans lineup that included four future major leaguers — Fred Lynn, Roy Smalley, Steve Kemp and Rich Dauer — to one hit with 15 strikeouts through eight shutout innings.
He tired in the ninth inning, and coach Dick Siebert brought in a reliever with the Gophers leading 7-0. The Trojans rallied for an 8-7 win and went on to win their fourth straight national championship.
In addition to his pitching performance, Winfield batted .467 (7-for-15). He was selected Most Outstanding Player of the series, despite his team not making the final. A week later, Winfield was standing in left field at San Diego Stadium.
“That was part of the negotiations,” Winfield said. “I had my options with basketball and football, and I said, ‘If I choose baseball, I have to go right to the major leagues.’
“They granted that wish. ... I didn’t know what I was getting into, but I certainly didn’t want to go to the minor leagues.”
Only 24 players have gone straight to the majors during the draft era (since 1965).
Chicago White Sox lefthander Garrett Crochet, drafted out of Tennessee in 2020, is the only player to do it in the past decade.
In addition to Winfield, Texas Rangers pitcher David Clyde, a high school left-hander, and Minnesota Twins pitcher Eddie Bane, an Arizona State lefthander, also went straight to the majors out of the 1973 draft.
Winfield is the only one in the Straight-to-the-majors club to reach the Hall of Fame.
His career began with little fanfare — or fan interest.
There were 5,338 witnesses to Winfield’s debut. The fan base was turned off more, no doubt, by the prospect of seeing a 19-46 team than it was turned on by the chance to get a glimpse of a future Hall of Famer.
On a pleasant evening in Mission Valley, Winfield played left field and batted seventh — between third baseman Dave Roberts and second baseman Rich Morales — in a 7-3 loss to the Astros.
Winfield went 1-for-4 against Houston righthander Jerry Reuss. He was hitless in his first three atbats, flying out to center field and grounding out twice, before reaching on an infield single to third base for the first of 3,110 career hits.
“I hit a smash,” Winfield said. “Doug Rader was a gold glove third baseman. He knocked it down, threw over to first. I remember running full speed and I saw the throw was off the base, a little high. Can you believe it, my first hit was a head-first slide.
“I didn’t know what it took to get a hit. There was a lot I had to learn. It was a whole different stage. A whole different environment. All of a sudden I’m playing against people I read about or saw on TV or on a poster.”
There is a San Diego connection to Winfield’s development as a hitter.
He was strictly a pitcher his first three seasons at Minnesota. That’s what he was listed as when he played two summers in the Alaska Baseball League.
San Diego State coach Jim Dietz coached the Goldpanners team Winfield played on in Alaska and penciled him into the lineup as a hitter as well.
Back in Minnesota for his senior season, Winfield says, “Coach, here are my stats,” after being 1972 MVP of the league in Alaska.
Siebert, the Gophers coach, finally let him pick up a bat. Winfield rewarded the decision by hitting nearly .400 and finishing second in the Big Ten in RBIS. And off he went. Winfield would become a fixture in right field for the Padres over seven seasons, developing into one of the National League’s most complete all-around players.
He thrilled fans with a big swing that produced long home runs, a strong arm that made runners think twice about going from first to third and long legs that made it seem like he could steal second base in three strides.
Winfield provided a power bat for the Padres, highlighted in 1979 when he hit 34 homers and had an Nl-leading 118 RBIS.
Such statistics drew interest outside of San Diego, of course, and the Yankees signed Winfield to a record $23 million, 10-year freeagent contract following the 1980 season.
Winfield recorded a .283 batting average over his 22year career, accumulating 3,110 hits, 465 home runs, 1,833 RBIS and 223 stolen bases. He was a 12-time Allstar who won seven Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers.
He was the 19th player in major league history to reach the 3,000-hit milestone — collecting the big hit in 1993 with his hometown Minnesota Twins.
Winfield was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2001 — and the first player to come to Cooperstown wearing a Padres cap.
Contrary to common belief, Winfield said he was not compensated for choosing the Padres over the Yankees.
He was inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame a year earlier, and his No. 31 is among six numbers retired by the franchise.
Winfield remains busy in baseball as special assistant to executive director Tony Clark of the Major League Baseball Players Association.