Randy Winn
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Dwight Randolph "Randy" Winn (born June 9, 1974 in Los Angeles, California) is a Major League Baseball center fielder for the San Francisco Giants. Winn is a switch-hitter, and throws right-handed; he is 6’ 2” and weighs 195 lbs.
Winn grew up in Danville, California, and went to San Ramon Valley High School. He went to college at the Santa Clara University, and played baseball and basketball. Winn began his professional baseball career in 1995, where he was a 3rd-round draft choice for the Florida Marlins. He had his Major League debut on May 11 1998, as a Tampa Bay Devil Ray, and was acquired in 2003 by the Seattle Mariners. Prior to the trading deadline on July 31 2005, Seattle traded Winn to the Giants for catcher Yorvit Torrealba and minor league pitcher Jesse Foppert. Upon his arrival, Winn instantly became a much-needed offensive and defensive force for the Giants. Normally a winning team, the Giants were in the midst of a losing season, having suffered the loss of their biggest offensive force, Barry Bonds, and other crucial starting players due to injuries. Winn gave new life to the ailing Giants and instantly earned the respect and admiration of his teammates and Giants’ fans everywhere. It was a successful homecoming for the San Francisco Bay Area native. Winn has also been a great player on the defensive end. In one game Winn robbed Eric Byrnes of a home run in the top of the 9th. The giants then won the game on a walk off home run by Moises Alou.
Despite a late-season rally, the 2005 Giants finished third in their division, with a .463 record (having won 75 games and losing 87). In his 231 at-bats as a Giant, Winn had a .359 batting average, a .680 slugging percentage, 26 RBIs, and hit 14 home runs. By comparison, in his 386 at-bats with the 2005 Mariners, Winn was batting .275, slugging .391, had 37 RBIs, and hit 6 home runs.
In his two months with the Giants, Winn equalled his career record for home runs in a season. For his outstanding performance in the month of September, 2005, Winn was named National League Player of the Month; he recorded 51 hits and had a batting average of .447. Winn's 51 hits were the most in one month by a Giant in at least 30 years. Normally hitting lead-off for the Giants, manager Felipe Alou indicated he would put Winn third in the lineup for the 2006 season in order to take advantage of his RBI potential.
Winn's only All-Star Game appearance came in 2002, when he was Tampa Bay's lone representative in the game.
External links
- [Baseball-Reference.com] - career statistics and analysis
- [Randy Winn] at ESPN.com
- [MLB]
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