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From speedsters like Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines to sluggers like Jim Rice and Dale Murphy, the 1980s saw a variety of multifaceted talents patrolling MLB outfields. Among this talented group of outfielders, two Hall of Famers who stood out with their combination of consistency and five-tool versatility were Andre Dawson and Dave Winfield. Both outfielders starred in the big leagues for more than 20 years across three different decades (1970s, 1980s, and 1990s) with multiple teams and were among the best players of the 1980s, earning MVP awards, Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, All-Star selections, etc. en route to Cooperstown. Given the similarities in comparing this pair of star outfielders, the natural question to ask is:
Who was better – Andre Dawson or Dave Winfield?
The Beginning
Hailing from opposite parts of the country, Dawson and Winfield took divergent paths to MLB – while Winfield was by far the more heralded baseball prospect (and athlete in general), both players quickly became productive players at the big league level.
A native of Florida, Dawson grew up in Miami and later stayed in-state to attend Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. In the 1975 MLB Draft, he was selected #250 overall in the 11th round by the then-Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals) and was a September call-up in 1976. During his first full major league season in 1977, Dawson hit .282 with 19 home runs, 65 runs batted in, 64 runs scored, 21 stolen bases, a .326 on-base percentage, and a .474 slugging percentage, good for a 116 OPS+ (which measures on-base percentage plus slugging vs. a league-wide average set at 100) to win the NL Rookie of the Year award.
In contrast, Winfield spent his formative years in St. Paul, Minnesota and was actually drafted in the 40th round of the 1969 MLB June Amateur Draft by the Baltimore Orioles, but instead attended the University of Minnesota on a baseball scholarship, where he played both baseball and basketball. As a baseball player, he was an All-American in 1973 and named MVP of the College World Series – as a pitcher. Subsequently, Winfield became one of only six players ever drafted in three professional sports and one of only three players ever drafted by four different leagues – in addition to being selected fourth overall in the 1973 MLB June Amateur Draft by the San Diego Padres for baseball as a pitcher, he was also drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA and the Utah Stars in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for basketball, and in the 17th round of the NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings despite never playing college football. Choosing baseball, he was immediately called up to the big leagues as a hitter and appeared in 56 games in 1973 (he never actually became a major league pitcher); during his first full season in 1974, Winfield hit .265 with 20 home runs, 75 runs batted in, 57 runs scored, a .318 on-base percentage, and a .438 slugging percentage (115 OPS+).
Career Comparison
Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Dawson and Winfield both excelled for two different franchises and were among the premier players in the game, each accumulating a slew of awards and honors and reaching MVP-caliber levels.
Playing on Expos teams that also included future Hall of Famers like catcher Gary Carter and the aforementioned Tim Raines, Dawson was a five-tool player who showed continuous improvement in his early days, hitting at least 15 home runs and stealing at least 20 bases in each of his first seven full seasons with the team. In 1980, he hit .300 for the first time (.308) with 17 home runs, 87 runs batted in, 96 runs scored, 34 stolen bases (just one shy of his career-high of 35 set the previous season), a .358 on-base percentage, and a .492 slugging percentage (136 OPS+) and won the first of six straight Gold Gloves and four career Silver Sluggers while finishing seventh for league MVP. He was even better during the strike-shortened 1981 season, going .302 with 24 home runs, 64 runs batted in, 26 stolen bases, a career-best .365 on-base percentage, and a .553 slugging percentage (good for a 157 OPS+) to not only earn the first of three consecutive All-Star selections (8x overall), but also finish second in NL MVP voting to Mike Schmidt. Arguably his best season in Montreal was 1983, when Dawson hit .299 with a league-high 189 hits, 32 home runs, 113 runs batted in, 25 stolen bases (his last time swiping 20+ bags in a season, as knee injuries aggravated by playing on artificial turf limited his running abilities), a .338 on-base percentage, and a .539 slugging percentage (141 OPS+); he earned the All-Star/Gold Glove/Silver Slugger trifecta and once again was second for MVP, this time to Dale Murphy. Over the following three seasons, Dawson’s batting average dropped, though he continued to hit around 20 home runs and drive in 80-90 runs per year, and would win two additional Gold Gloves.
Upon becoming a free agent after the 1986 season, Dawson ultimately signed with the Chicago Cubs. In his first season with the team in 1987, he proceeded to hit .287 with a league-high and career-best 49 home runs and 137 runs batted in, 90 runs scored, a .328 on-base percentage, and a career-high .568 slugging percentage (130 OPS+) to not only earn another All-Star appearance and win another Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, but he also took home NL MVP honors, thus becoming the first player to win MVP on a last-place team. This would mark the first of five straight All-Star campaigns with the Cubs; though he never again reached his 1987 heights, Dawson remained a highly effective player, winning a final Gold Glove in 1988 and finishing with 100+ runs batted in in each of his final two All-Star seasons:
- 1990: a career-high .310 batting average with 27 home runs, 100 runs batted in, 72 runs scored, a .358 on-base percentage, and a .535 slugging percentage (135 OPS+)
- 1991: .272 batting average with 31 home runs, 104 runs batted in, 69 runs scored, a .302 on-base percentage, and a .488 slugging percentage (116 OPS+)
During his final season with the Cubs in 1992, Dawson hit .277 with 22 home runs, 90 runs batted in, 60 runs scored, a .316 on-base percentage, and a .456 slugging percentage, good for a 114 OPS+.
Once again a free agent after the 1992 season, Dawson signed with the Boston Red Sox, where he recorded his 400th career home run; however, 1993 would be his last season playing full-time, as he never again played more than 79 games in a season. After two seasons with the Red Sox, he joined the newly formed Florida Marlins for two more seasons, though played sparingly, before retiring after the 1996 season at age 41. Dawson is one of only eight members of the 300-300 club (300 career home runs and 300 career stolen bases) along with Bobby and Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Reggie Sanders, Steve Finley, Alex Rodriguez, and Carlos Beltran, and one of only five players in the 400-300 clubs (Barry Bonds, Mays, Rodriguez, and Beltran are the others).
Similarly, Winfield also gradually improved during his time in San Diego into an All-Star player, with the first of a dozen straight All-Star appearances coming in 1977: a .275 batting average with 25 home runs, 92 runs batted in, 104 runs scored, a .335 on-base percentage, and a .467 slugging percentage, good for a 124 OPS+. Though not quite as speedy on the basepaths as Dawson, Winfield nevertheless had six straight double-digit steal seasons with the Padres, including 4x with 20+ stolen bases. His best season with the team came in 1979, when he hit .308 with 34 home runs, a league-leading and career-high 118 runs batted in, 97 runs scored, 15 stolen bases, a .395 on-base percentage, and a .558 slugging percentage (166 OPS+), winning the front-end of back-to-back Gold Gloves (7x overall) and finishing third for NL MVP. After another All-Star campaign in 1980, Winfield signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees, becoming the highest-paid player in the game after inking a 10-year, $23M contract.
Over nearly a decade in New York, Winfield was an All-Star in every full season with the team and had some of his best seasons. His first year with the Yankees was the strike-shortened 1981 season, during which he won the first of five straight Silver Sluggers (6x overall) and finished seventh for MVP by hitting .294 with 13 home runs, 68 runs batted in, 52 runs scored, a .360 on-base percentage, and a .464 slugging percentage (139 OPS+). This was followed by five consecutive seasons with at least 100 runs batted in – notably:
- 1981: hit .280 with a career-high 37 home runs, 106 runs batted in, 84 runs scored, a .331 on-base percentage, and a career-high .560 slugging percentage (142 OPS+); won the first of four straight Gold Gloves and also won a Silver Slugger
- 1984: hit a career-best .340 with 19 home runs, 100 runs batted in, a career-high 106 runs scored, a .393 on-base percentage, and a .515 slugging percentage (154 OPS+); again won both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger while finishing eighth for MVP
Winfield had his highest MVP finish (fourth) in 1988: a .322 batting average with 25 home runs, 107 runs batted in, 96 runs scored, a career-high .398 on-base percentage, and a .530 slugging percentage, good for a 159 OPS+. However, after missing the entire 1989 season with a back injury and continuing to feud with the team, he was traded 20 games into the 1990 season to the California Angels for Mike Witt.
During close to two productive seasons with the Angels, Winfield achieved the career achievement of his 400th home run vs. the Minnesota Twins in his hometown. Later, he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays to serve as their designated hitter for the 1992 season and as a 40-year-old, hit .290 with 26 home runs, 108 runs batted in, 92 runs scored, a .377 on-base percentage, and a .491 slugging percentage (138 OPS+) to win his final Silver Slugger and place fifth for MVP. After one season north of the border, he joined his hometown Twins and in 1993, not only blasted 21 home runs, but also achieved his 3,000th career hit vs. Oakland Athletics Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley. In a strange twist, during the 1994 strike, he was then traded to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later; no player was ever included though and instead, the Twins and Indians executives went to a dinner that Cleveland paid for, so Winfield was effectively “traded” for a nice dinner. As the oldest player in baseball at 43 years old, Winfield spent one final season in 1995 with the Indians before retiring.
Overall, Dawson and Winfield each played 20+ major league seasons (21 and 22, respectively), with the latter having around 350 extra games played. As a result of more games played and more career at-bats, Winfield has the edge in every major counting offensive category with the exception of stolen bases; ratio and average-wise, he also has a slightly higher career batting average, on-base percentage (buoyed by a better eye for drawing walks) and OPS+, though Dawson’s slugging percentage is better. Breaking it down further by season, Dawson put up more years with a .300+ average (5x vs. 4x) and 20+ stolen bases (7x vs. 4x), whereas Winfield leads in seasons with 20+ home runs (15x vs. 13x, with each player having 30+ home runs 3x) and 100+ runs batted in (8x vs. 4x). Moreover, in terms of how this translates into awards and accolades, the two outfielders are again quite comparable – Winfield has more All-Star selections (12x vs. 8x) and Silver Sluggers (6x vs. 4x), but Dawson won more Gold Gloves (8x vs. 7x) and also has an MVP award and a Rookie of the Year award. Interestingly, from an advanced metrics perspective, the two players have nearly identical career Wins Above Replacement (WAR): 64.8 for Dawson vs. 64.2 for Winfield. Accordingly, both players are Hall of Famers, with Winfield being inducted in 2001, followed by Dawson in 2010.
Regular Season Statistics
| Andre Dawson | Player | Dave Winfield |
| 21 (1976-1996) | Seasons | 22 (1973-1988, 1990-1995) |
| 2,627 | Games Played | 2,973 |
| 9,927 | At-Bats | 11,003 |
| 2,774 | Hits | 3,110 |
| 1,373 | Runs | 1,669 |
| 438 | Home Runs | 465 |
| 1,591 | Runs Batted In | 1,833 |
| 589 | Walks | 1,216 |
| 314 | Stolen Bases | 223 |
| .279 | Batting Average | .283 |
| .323 | On-Base Percentage | .353 |
| .482 | Slugging Percentage | .475 |
| 119 | OPS+ | 130 |
| 64.8 | Wins Above Replacement | 64.2 |
| 8x | All-Star Games | 12x |
| 1x | MVP | – |
| – | World Series Titles | 1x |
| 4x Silver Slugger, 8x Gold Glove, ROY | Other Awards | 6x Silver Slugger, 7x Gold Glove |
| 2010 | Hall of Fame Induction | 2001 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Despite their individual accomplishments, neither Dawson nor Winfield was able to consistently guide their teams to the playoffs, though Winfield did have one magical postseason moment late in his career.
Across the Expos and Cubs, Dawson only made two playoff trips, one with each franchise. In 1981, the Expos advanced to the NLCS vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he hit just .150 in a five-game loss after batting .300 in the NLDS. At the end of the decade, together with former MVP second baseman Ryne Sandberg, Dawson helped lead the Cubs to the NLCS vs. the San Francisco Giants, but again hit sub-.200 in a five-game loss (.105).
Likewise, Winfield appeared just twice in the postseason throughout his lengthy career. After no playoff appearances with the Padres, he made it to just one postseason with the Yankees despite having star teammates like fellow outfielder Rickey Henderson and MVP first baseman Don Mattingly – in 1981, the Yankees lost to the Dodgers in six games in the World Series (after Los Angeles defeated Dawson’s Expos in the NLCS), and Winfield hit progressively worse in each round: .350 in a five-game ALDS win over the Milwaukee Brewers, .154 in a sweep of the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, and only .045 (a lone hit in 22 at-bats) in the World Series. Winfield did get some redemption in 1992 with the Blue Jays – in a six-game World Series victory over the Tom Glavine and John Smoltz-led Atlanta Braves, he was so-so overall with a .227 batting average, but delivered the game-winning two-run double in the 11th inning of Game 6 to clinch the title.
Playoff Statistics
| Andre Dawson | Player | Dave Winfield |
| 15 | Games Played | 26 |
| 59 | At-Bats | 101 |
| 11 | Hits | 21 |
| 3 | Runs | 11 |
| – | Home Runs | 2 |
| 3 | Runs Batted In | 9 |
| 3 | Walks | 14 |
| 2 | Stolen Bases | 2 |
| .186 | Batting Average | .208 |
| .238 | On-Base Percentage | .304 |
| .237 | Slugging Percentage | .337 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; after starring with two different teams each, Dawson and Winfield would bounce around in their late 30s and early 40s, eventually becoming bench players. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Andre Dawson | Player | Dave Winfield |
| 1979-1983, 1987-1991 | Decade of Dominance | 1978-1979, 1982-1988, 1992 |
| 1,440 | Games Played | 1,520 |
| 5,571 | At-Bats | 5,803 |
| 1,624 | Hits | 1,707 |
| 839 | Runs | 940 |
| 273 | Home Runs | 274 |
| 936 | Runs Batted In | 1,067 |
| 346 | Walks | 652 |
| 210 | Stolen Bases | 103 |
| .292 | Batting Average | .294 |
| .335 | On-Base Percentage | .364 |
| .512 | Slugging Percentage | .505 |
| 48.7 | Wins Above Replacement | 41.7 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
When you look at their decades of dominance and thus normalize for Winfield’s longer overall career, the picture is similar – Winfield maintains small leads in most categories (with the exception of stolen bases and slugging percentage), but due to better defense in his prime, Dawson actually emerges with a noticeably better WAR over 10 years.
My Thoughts
In comparing the careers of Andre Dawson and Dave Winfield, it is fascinating to see how similar they were – both entered MLB in the 1970s and were highly proficient in all facets of the game (at least in their primes), dominated over a decade-plus with two different teams in the late 1970s and 1980s (Expos and Cubs for Dawson, Padres and Yankees for Winfield), and played into their early 40s. To a certain extent, each player had relative advantages over the other – Dawson was a slightly better base-stealer and defensive player vs. Winfield being a little bit better of a hitter – though not by a large margin. As such, I think it comes down to little things here and there – yes, Dawson does have the MVP award from 1987 (though beyond the 49 home runs 137 runs batted in, it was not necessarily a great season, as he only produced a 4.0 WAR, well below his 7-8 WAR heyday seasons in Montreal), but Winfield did play a little longer and amassed slightly better career numbers (e.g. 3,000-hit club) with just as many, if not more, individual great years. Neither player had much postseason success, but Winfield does have the “one shining moment” of winning the World Series for the Blue Jays in 1992. Finally, while not necessarily baseball-related or impactful to this debate, let us take a minute and appreciate the fact that Winfield was arguably one of the greatest all-around athletes ever – how many other star athletes can stake a claim to being drafted by three different professional sports!
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Dave Winfield
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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