2022 National Paid Signer - Dave Winfield

A regular goal for me at the last few Nationals has been to add to my signed 1987 set. Unfortunately, it has gotten harder and harder to find guys I still need. I did, however, need two of the signers this year. Dave Winfield was the first.

Dave was pretty quiet, but was fine while he was signing. I was really happy to finally cross him off of my 1987 list. 

Birthday Present From Drew - Dave Winfield Signed Baseball

The other baseball in my package from Drew was of Dave Winfield.  Winfield (b. 1951) played in the majors from 1973 to 1988 and 1990 to 1995 for the Padres, Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Twins and Indians.  He had 3,110 hits, 465 home runs and a career average of .283.  He never won the MVP award (surprisingly) but finished 3rd in the voting in 1979 (behind tying winners, Keith Hernandez and Willie Stargell).  Winfield had to wait until 1992 to win the World Series, with the Blue Jays.  He had one other appearance in a World Series, 1981, when he batted .095 for the Yankees, gaining the nickname Mr. May from Yankee owner George Steinbrenner.

Looking at his stats, I would have thought Winfield had led the league in more of the traditional categories (you know, hits, runs, homers, RBI, avg, etc) but he only led the league in one of them, RBI, in 1979 with 118.  I guess the definition of him would be "solid".  He was a solid player his whole career and parlayed thar into the Hall of Fame.

Winfield was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001 (his first ballot) with 84.5% of the vote.  He is my 94th Hall of Famer.

So, thanks again, Drew, for the awesome birthday presents!

Hidden in my Collection - 1975 Topps Dave Winfield

I have had this card for probably 16 or 17 years. I can't remember where I got it, I mean I know my mom bought it for me, but I'm not sure if I got it from the card shop that ended up becoming the one I help out at, or the other card shop that was in Winston-Salem at the time. I kept this with my Cal Ripken collection, because for a long time, it was the oldest card in my collection.
I'm a big fan of the 1975 Topps set. I love the funky colors. I really believe that this set is probably in the top 5 all-time when it comes to best sets that Topps has put out. I like it when they throw a curveball and come out with a 'different' design. This one is right up there, along with the wood bordered sets of 1962 and 1987, or the burlap 1968s. Along with the design, the set also has some sweet cards in it, namely the George Brett and Robin Yount rookie cards. Building the set was difficult because it is very popular among collectors, so many of the cards hold a premium, but I was able to finish the set in less than a year.
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Dave Winfield was an awesome player as well, hitting over 400 home runs and collecting 3,000+ hits. This is his second-year card, so it didn't come too cheap, but Mom did well on it, as always. When I put the 1975 set together, I got a separate Winfield so the one Mom got me stayed in its righful place, stored with my other 'treasures.'
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Finally, I enjoy the old school Padres uniform. I don't know why, but I've always enjoyed their old brown and yellow helmets. I hear their stadium and the City of San Diego are beautiful, as I have had several friends who have visited there. I'd definitely like to at some point.