Dave Winfield
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dave winfield www.davewinfieldhof.com Dave Winfield has been hailed as one of the greatest athletes ever to play professional sports. One of only 7 players in the history of baseball to reach over 3,000 hits and over 450 home runs, the 12- time All-Star is amongst the all-time leaders in hits, home runs and RBI. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 -- his first year of eligibility. A Williams Scholar at the University of Minnesota, Winfield played both Big Ten basketball and baseball. An All-American in baseball, he was voted MVP of the 1973 College World Series as a pitcher. He is the only athlete ever to be drafted by four professional teams: basketball (ABA Atlanta Hawks and NBA Utah Stars), football (NFL Minnesota Vikings) and baseball (MLB San Diego Padres). In 2007 he was inducted into the first class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame. His professional career took off in 1973 when he joined the San Diego Padres, never spending a day in the Minor Leagues. His next stop: eight All-Star seasons with the New York Yankees. In 1990, he joined the California Angels, followed by a magical year with the Toronto Blue Jays where he drove in the winning run of the 1992 World Series. He returned to his native Minnesota Twins where he the 3,000th hit milestone. He ended his 22-year career after the 1995 season with the American League Champion Cleveland Indians. Dave is currently a studio analyst for ESPN Baseball Tonight, ESPN News and SportsCenter, and a host of the national Baseball Music Project. A member of the board of the San Diego Padres, Winfield continues in professional baseball as executive vice president/senior advisor, and serves as an ambassador for the Ritz Carlton Destination Clubs. Besides appearing in national commercials for ASK.com and Verizon Wireless, he was a baseball analyst for FOX Sports, did voiceover work, and narrated the MLB Network production Pride & Perseverance: The Story of the Negro Leagues. Dave hosted his own morning drive radio show, On The Ball, in Los Angeles, and wrote a syndicated column for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He served as spokesman for New York Summer Jobs for Youth, United Negro College Fund, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Daily News, Minnesota Board of Education and the Discovery Channel. He also appeared in the movie The Last Home Run, hosted the syndicated television series Greatest Sports Legends, and appeared on Married With Children, The Drew Carey Show, Arli$$, Pros vs. Joes and Windfall. One of the most respected and versatile motivational speakers on the circuit, Dave addresses diverse audiences from colleges to corporations such as American Express, MasterCard, CDW, CDI, Monster.com, Xerox, IBM, GE Small Business Solutions, General Motors, Bank of America and the FDIC. His dynamic presentations cover a wide range of issues -- sports, business, education, health, fitness, teamwork, and substance abuse prevention, corporate productivity, working and playing to win. He also conducts a unique and personal sports seminar series called Baseball Essentials, designed for both parents and children who are interested in growing in the game, winning scholarships to college, or playing professional baseball. He is currently on a national college speaking tour raising funds and awareness for college baseball programs. Dave is an accomplished author. His autobiography, Winfield: A Player’s Life was a New York Times best seller. He also wrote a drug education book, TURN IT AROUND! There’s No Room Here For Drugs; an acclaimed “how-to” called The Complete Baseball Player; “Ask Dave”, a book of advice for children compiled from his syndicated column, and his latest, Dropping The Ball, an in-depth look at baseball’s current problems and possible solutions. He also is a frequent contributor to newspapers, including the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. His tradition of winning goes well beyond the world of sports… into a rich spectrum of philanthropy and business. A successful entrepreneur, Winfield has owned art galleries and Burger Kings, and continues business/management consulting with businesses and community organizations today. Dave was one of the first professional athletes to create a charitable foundation – and inspired many other athletes to do the same. For over 20 years, the Winfield Foundation provided healthcare services, nutritional counseling, scholarships and computer literacy programs to deserving high school students, holiday dinners to families in need, and community outreach programs in and beyond the six Major League cities he called home. His vision enabled him to become an early adopter of and leader in the campaign for health and fitness. At Hackensack Medical Center in New Jersey, his leadership on the board and financial contributions led to the establishment of the Winfield Nutrition Center, still in operation today. The Winfield Foundation developed TURN IT AROUND!, an international community action campaign to prevent substance abuse. Innovative audio/visual and print materials for elementary school children were nationally recognized as exceptionally potent tools in the war on drugs. Educators, business leaders and government agencies around the world have endorsed and utilized the bi-lingual TURN IT AROUND! His charitable work has earned him numerous honors, including: the YMCA Brian Piccolo Award for Humanitarian Service, the first Branch Rickey Community Service Award, American League Joe Cronin Award, Josh Gibson Leadership Award and Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award. He was also awarded honorary Doctorate of Laws from both Syracuse University and Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and was selected one of America’s 10 Outstanding Young Men. He has served on the boards of President Clinton’s National Service Program, the Peace Corps, Morehouse School of Medicine, Hackensack Medical Center, the Century Council, Authentify, Inc., and the advisory board of the Major League Baseball Players Trust. He recently accompanied President Jimmy Carter on a Carter Center mission to West Africa to help combat mosquito and waterborne diseases in underserved countries. He resides in Bel Air, California with his wife, Tonya, and children, Arielle and David II. His daughter, Shanel, graduated magna cum laude, earning her MBA from Florida A&M University in 2005. WINFIELD BY THE NUMBERS: First Ballot Inductee National Baseball Hall of Fame 2001 3,110 Career Hits 465 Home Runs 1,833 RBI 2,973 Games Played 12 Consecutive All-Star Games 7 Gold Gloves 6 Silver Slugger Awards .