From 1903-1989, every World Series winning team except two have boasted at least one future Hall of Famer on their roster. In most of the cases, the winning team has had more than one player who have gone on to be immortalized in Cooperstown.
In his senior year in college, Dave Winfield was a wanted man. In 1973, Winfield, a senior at the University of Minnesota, was selected in four drafts in three different professional sports. Just weeks after being selected as the fourth overall pick in the baseball draft by the San Diego Padres, Winfield was named Most Valuable Player of the College World Series.
It was July of 1976, the Summer of The Bird. Mark Fidrych, the 21-year old rookie was the center of attention. He couldn’t help but be. The spotlight found him, and it was for the simplest of reasons. He was himself. Refreshingly so.