A Dave Winfield Anecdote About Giving

Dave Winfield. Photo: Creative Commons

The Dave Winfield story is impressive on many levels. A Baby Boomer, he was born in 1951 and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. He no doubt had a lot of natural ability, but he developed what he was born with to become an exceptional athlete. Doors were opened for him to pursue basketball and baseball in college. Ultimately he chose a career in baseball, becoming a 12-time MLB All Star during a 22 year career with six teams. 

Noteworthy features of his story are many. His parents were divorced when he was three so that he was raised in an extended family. Like most boys of that era (myself included) he played ball every day in the playground where he honed his skills and instincts and caught the eye of a coach who helped him move to the next level with a full scholarship at the University of Minnesota. By this time he was "all growed up," an imposing figure at six foot six.

Winfield was a first round draft pick by the San Diego Padres. Like Babe Ruth Winfield started as a pitcher, though the Padres also used him in right field so they could take advantage of his bat. By the time he retired he was #22 on the 3000 hit club, a short list of 32 star players. 

From the start he improved each year and in 1977 played in his first All Star game. In 1978 he became Padres team captain and in '79 hit 34 home runs while batting .308. 

I share all this as lead in to my anecdote. He was a star before he reached New York, but in the Big Apple the lights are brighter and headlines bigger. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner set his sights on Winfield once he chose to be a free agent in 1980, and what Steinbrenner wanted he usually got.  

In 1981 Winfield signed a 23 million dollar 10-year contract with the Yankees, becoming. the highest paid player in baseball at the time. (Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Dodgers made a jaw-dropping 396 million dollars in 2019, fwiw.) 

WHAT I REMEMBER MOST is that his contract with George Steinbrenner had a stipulation. Winfield insisted that $300,000 a year be given to the David M. Winfield Foundation which would manage the distribution of this money for disadvantaged kids. By establishing a fund Winfield could focus on baseball. 

What prompted this request? If I remember correctly, now that Winfield was a high profile ballplayer, he was not only receiving fan mail, but also countless letters requesting financial help. "Dear Dave, my mother is going to be evicted from her house unless you can somehow help to pay off her mortgage." Those kinds of requests were challenging on two levels. First, taking time to consider each one would take his mind off the game that was his livelihood. Second, how many of these requests were sincere? How would one even know?

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Right from the start of his career Winfield displayed a strong generous spirit. I believe I read somewhere that he was motivated in this way as a Christian. According to the Scriptures we're to share our blessings, not horde them. Winfield's philanthropic endeavors influenced other MLB players to do likewise. Derek Jeter credits Winfield as the inspiration for his own Turn 2 Foundation. 

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2 MORE ANECDOTES
Winfield and Yankees owner George Steinbrenner were perpetually at odds. At one point the New York Daily News asked why he had such a problem with The Boss. To which Winfield replied, "I have no problem with Bruce Springsteen."

When Winfield hit his 400th home run, after 10 days struggling to accomplish the feat, he quipped, "Three-ninety-nine sounds like something you'd purchase at a discount store Four hundred sounds much better."

Much of the information here comes from the Dave Winfield Wikipedia page. Any errors here are from my semi-reliable and sometimes faulty memory.