Dave Winfield Became a Yankee...

...on this date in 1980. That headline-grabbing 10-year contract, initially valued at 18-million dollars -- though the payout became greater, from a cost-of-living clause -- and was the richest contract in baseball up to that point.
Despite posting impressive numbers for much of his tenure in the Bronx, Yankee fans never embraced Winfield all that warmly, and he doesn't return there all that often. Of course, the Yankees just won one pennant while he was there -- and then blew a lead to lose the '81 World Series to the Dodgers -- which didn't help endear him to the Yankee faithful. Worse, they never won another division title during his New York years or even made the post-season while he was there. Then there remain lingering hard feelings over the Howie Spira incident. The Yankees never retired Winfield's number 31 -- and his Hall of Fame plaque pictures him in a Padres cap.
That's why I was pleasantly surprised to see him take part in the Derek Jeter Day ceremony last September, which gave me the rare chance to photograph him at Yankee Stadium. He's seen alongside Gerald Williams and Cal Ripken, Jr.