Rondo royalty and ‘hometown hero’ Dave Winfield honored in St. Paul

Dozens of baseball fans and population members flocked to Toni Stone Field on Saturday to honor baseball great Dave Winfield the former St Paul playground legend who became a major league hall of famer During a ceremony recognizing Winfield s athletic and philanthropic successes St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter publicized that a statue of Winfield would be placed at the St Paul baseball field in the spring to remind young athletes of their own anticipated for greatness Baseball hall of famer and St Paul native Dave Winfield gives a speech during his legacy celebration at Toni Stone Stadium in St Paul on Saturday July Bennett Moger Pioneer Press St Paul all of you mean a great deal to me Dave Winfield stated And I m totally honored that you would think of putting up specific permanent recognition to keep that legacy alive to motivate other people after me and tell them Yeah you can do it too Yeah you come from St Paul Minnesota It s not where you re from it s where you re going And to have that permanent statue and legacy it s one of the greatest honors of my life A star pitcher and basketball contestant at the University of Minnesota Winfield became one of baseball s great right fielders over a -year career playing for San Diego the New York Yankees Toronto Blue Jays Twins and briefly Cleveland He was an all-star times and won seven Gold Glove Awards In addition to baseball s Hall of Fame Winfield is a member of the Gophers and Central High School halls He has written several books and articles on baseball and his Ask Dave column ran in the Pioneer Press from - This is a very powerful day announced Anika Bowie city council member representing Ward in St Paul And this neighborhood that raised legends continues to make history The Winfield family which includes Dave s brother Steve a fixture in St Paul amateur athletics as a participant coach and tournament official is Rondo Royalty Bowie reported They represent the best of us Rooted resilient and relentless in their beliefs in our young people in our families and in investing in what has invested in us Their roots run deep here and their values reflect everything that his neighbors stands for perseverance leadership and love for a society she noted They established us what s attainable when talent meets opportunity and when family and neighborhoods walk beside you every step of that way Winfield is more than just a baseball icon she declared He s a Rondo kid who turned grit into greatness a young boy who sharpened his skills on the field and was lifted up by a area that maintained in him And now he gives back to that same locality times over Along with the installation of the statue Carter revealed that the Toni Stone baseball field would be renewed and that a Hall of Fame plaza was going to be constructed at the location to honor Winfield and the other St Paul hall of famers Paul Molitor Jack Morris and Joe Mauer All four grew up at different times but within miles of one another in the city Baseball hall of famers Dave Winfield left and Joe Mauer right congratulate each other during the Dave Winfield Legacy Celebration at Toni Stone Stadium in St Paul on Saturday July A statue of each of them in addition to two other St Paul baseball legends will be installed in the Dunning Sports Complex to celebrate the path they have paved for St Paul baseball Bennett Moger Pioneer Press We re in the presence of royalty the present day Carter noted acknowledging the other recognizable members of the crowd such as Mauer longtime baseball coach Bill Peterson and former Vikings receiver and King Boreas Leo Lewis Growing up Carter explained he and his friends commented they knew that Winfield and Peterson were from their society and he remembered the day Winfield swung the bat and made his th hit And that changes our perspective of where we can go from these spaces Carter explained noting that out of several people who have played Major League Baseball only have had accumulated as a great number of as hits including Molitor So when we say that Dave Winfield is literally one of the best to ever do it that is not hyperbole at all That is just statistical facts And the only thing better than coming from this group and going on to do great things is coming back to the public to do great things From the early stages of his baseball career Winfield has been invested in the group and neighborhood They say Don t forget where you came from and we re here to honor and celebrate someone who literally never forgot where he came from Carter stated St Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez called Winfield a hometown hero who represents the heart soul and strength of St Paul Baseball is woven into the history of St Paul It s more than a event here It s part of our identity Rodriguez added St Paul has invariably been a place where young people have unveiled themselves through sports and recreation and detected society through teams And no one embodies that story more than Dave Winfield Winfield retired with hits the th hit as a member of the hometown Twins in The year before he won the World Series with the Blue Jays Even more inspiring is what he s done beyond the field Rodriguez reported He s never forgotten where he came from He s invested in youth in population and in opportunity and in building programs that have lifted up thousands of young people across the country and especially here at home In St Paul Rodriguez noted all athletic programs for children are free because we believe every kid deserves the chance to play deserves the chance to grow and belong Dave St Peter longtime president of the Minnesota Twins now working with them as a consultant stated that while Winfield was a unique athlete his athletic prowess is only part of his legacy Dave was evolving in the neighborhood before it was in vogue for players to be progressing in the neighborhood he revealed The Winfield Foundation had been established plenty of multiple years before he ever evidenced up in a Twins uniform And in my role at the time it was a blessing to tell other players Dave is the model guys ' I had a really wonderful lucky career with the Twins and I got to do a lot of really cool things St Peter announced But one of the things I m the majority proud of is working with Dave Winfield and championing his area sessions Carter announced he went to college on a Winfield scholarship and that he is the parent of a trainee who was a scholarship recipient Dave Winfield right hugs his brother Steve Winfield left before giving his speech during the Dave Winfield Legacy Celebration at Toni Stone Stadium in St Paul on Saturday July Bennett Moger Pioneer Press Steve Winfield also spoke at the ceremony saying that when he and his brother were growing up raised by a single mom without much money they unfailingly tried to find an extra can of food or something to help when a new member of their baseball band evidenced up and didn t have much of anything And his brother noted Winfield went on to help others as one of the first professional athletes to start a foundation Now just about all the athletes get a contract and say OK I ll do this I ll do that ' he reported But David was doing it before it was a popular thing to do so I think that s a thing I m majority of proud of Playing sports is about more than just the sport Carter commented You learn how to connect with teammates You learn how to work hard through struggle You learn how to take and receive coaching You build relationships with your teammates you build relationships with adults who care about you he commented Winfield disclosed he and older brother Steve were very fortunate to grow up in a area where sports and the park and recreation were major to the locality They loved baseball from a young age We would play and we didn t need nine guys and a coach and time for practice he noted We d get a rubber ball a tennis ball any kind of ball and play off the approaches off the back of the church in the street in the alleys anywhere Baseball just really took ahold of us Steve would fall asleep at night dreaming of making the best catch ever Winfield explained while he would fall asleep thinking about how hard he longed to hit a baseball I yearned to hit the ball so hard that a guy would reach out and the ball would already be past him he stated In a special article he wrote for the Pioneer Press on the occasion of Target Field hosting the All-Star Tournament in Winfield mentioned he began playing baseball at age and knew by the age of that he desired to play professionally The skills and lessons I learned in St Paul were the foundation of a career I could barely imagine as a youth he wrote More than anything Winfield announced Saturday he required to thank all the teachers the coaching the public members who poured something into me to help make me who I am He reported he had no idea that the future mayor of St Paul would benefit from his foundation And all the outstanding things he s done I didn t know But it was invariably about giving back It was just a natural thing for me Related Articles Obituary Wendi Ward Practical Goods owner considered in recycling area Review Yacht Club festival kicks off second year with energetic Friday lineup St Paul to host Transplant Games St Paul Northern Iron Foundry files second lawsuit against MPCA St Paul Fire Chief Butch Inks appointed to second term