Barry Winford, Crossed Paths - 187

-
Originally published May 22, 2014
Barry Winford once crossed paths with Cal Ripken Jr., his friend Gar Ryness wrote in his book "Batting Stance Guy: A Love Letter to Baseball."

It came in spring training 1990, Ryness wrote. Winford, playing for the Rangers spring squad hit a double. Waiting for him at second was Ripken.

"They call you Winnie, right?" Ripken told Winford, the story went.

Winford crossed paths with Ripken as Winford went into his second season as a pro. Assigned to single-A Gastonia, Winford returned for just one more pro season.

Winford's career began in 1989, taken by the Rangers in the 12th round of the draft, out of Mississippi State University.

At Mississippi State, Winford still holds the record for career catching assists, with 110. He was names second-team All-SEC in 1989.

Winford singled and scored the game-winning run in an April 1987 game. He then broke his jaw on a play at the plate, but he made it back to the field by that May. Then, he knocked in a run on a double in a contest the next month.

With the Rangers, Winford started at rookie Butte. In 61 games, he hit .359. That fall, he went 2 for 2 in an instructional league game. He then moved to Gastonia for 1990. There, he hit just .238 over 96 games.

For 1991, Winford arrived at high-A Port Charlotte. He went 1 for 3, with a run scored and an RBI. He hit .216 over 69 games. It was his final year as a pro.

Browse By:

-Player Name
-Player Team
-Date Featured

Players A to Z

Popular posts from this blog

A to Z: 1990 Minor League Players, Baseball Profiles

-
Image
What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here alphabetically.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added Dec. 1, 2024 List of 1990 minor league players featured, in alphabetical order: Total: 4,457 A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z A  -  Bill Abare  got big hit at Dunedin, saw three pro seasons, 10/31/13  -  Glenn Abbott  saw bigs over decade, later turned coach, 7/27/14  -  Kurt Abbott 's first ML hit went for homer, saw 9 seasons, 3/22/15  -  Kyle Abbott  saw time in four major league seasons, Japan, 10/4/17  -  Paul Abbott  returned from injuries, made 11 ML seasons, 5/23/11 ...
Read more

Features from the 1990 minor league sets (By Date)

-
Image
What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here by the date published, newest first.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added July 13 ,  2025 Features in order of when the y appeared: July 2025 Trenidad Hubbard  dreamed, made bigs over 10 seasons,  7/13/25 Glenn Davis  got help, went from tough youth to ML star, 7/12/25 Matt Rambo   had jitters early, saw 5 seasons, AA, injury, 7/9/25 Bryan Foster  improved enough for 5 pro seasons, high-A, 7/6/25 T.J. Lucin  hoped to be FMLBBP, saw 2 seasons, single-A, 7/5/25 Edwin Valentin  saw 3 seasons, single-A, from Puerto Rico, 7/1/25 June 2025 Perry Berry  saw 4 seasons, high-A, went into education , 6/30/25 Jorge Pineda  made perfect throw, played one pr...
Read more

Dave Eichhorn made AAA, returned from freak fan accident

-
Image
University of Miami pitcher Dave Eichhorn proved stellar early in the 1983 season, according to The Miami News . By late March, his ERA had dropped to 0.82, The News wrote . "Dave Eichhorn is special," Miami associate head coach Skip Bertman told The News . "He has really been magnificent." His showing that year ultimately helped get him drafted. His pro career then lasted seven seasons. But that career ultimately an injury helped end, a freak injury involving a fan. He topped out at AAA . Eichhorn's career began that year in 1983, taken by the Dodgers in the eighth round of the draft out of Miami . Eichhorn's brother Mark Eichhorn also played, and made the majors. Eichhorn started with the Dodgers at single-A Lodi . He went 2-5, with a 5.36 ERA. He moved to single-A Bakersfield for 1984, then AA San Antonio for 1985. For 1986, he made AAA Albuquerque for 39 appearances , 38 in relief. He went 5-6, with a 5.00 ERA. Going into 1987, his fifth season as a p...
Read more

Paul Alegre used karate in high school to make pros

-
Image
Paul Alegre got himself ready to play in high school by playing another sport, karate, The Orlando Sentinel wrote . With that preparation, Alegre became a top hitter at Lyman High School in Florida, hitting .400 over two seasons there, according to The Sentinel . "Karate has made me a much more disciplined hitter," Alegre told The Sentinel . "It also has helped by quickness." Alegre used that quickness to go on to Murray State and to the pros. His pro career, though, was brief, just 17 games played over a single season. Alegre's brief pro career came after a high school career that saw Alegre star for his local school. He hit a home run in a mid-April game , his fifth on the year. Later that month, he had a diving catch, the start of a game-ending double play . With Lyman, Alegre made the All-County team with Lyman in 1985. He also made the Central Florida all-star classic . From Lyman, Alegre moved on to Murray State. He won All-Conference hono...
Read more

Todd Brown helped minor league teams for decade, made AAA

-
Image
Helena Gold Sox player  Todd Brown hit well early in the 1985 season, enough so that by late July the Brewers minor leaguer was being asked in the local Helena Independent-Record if he was disappointed not to have moved up. "I just take it day-by-day," Brown told The Independent-Record then. "I'm having a good time right now. Things will work out for me. I'm satisfied just helping the team." Brown eventually did move up that year, to single-A Beloit. In a career that spanned more than a decade, however, he never saw the majors . Brown's career began that year in 1985, taken by the Brewers in the fifth round of the draft out of Arizona State . Brown joined Arizona State as a walk-on and was hitting .360 with 12 home runs by April in 1984, The Arizona Republic wrote .  "We knew we had something when we first saw him," Arizona State coach Jim Brock told The Republic then. "The two things you look for are speed  and some pop in the bat. H...
Read more

Eddie Williams, Been Interesting - 131

-
Image
Eddie Williams had his share of trials and tribulations over his career, he told The Beaver County Times in 1997. The former first-round pick was in his ninth season with time in the bigs that year. He had also played in Japan and Mexico . "I've been around the world and I've played just about everywhere," Williams told The Times that August. "But you know what? I wouldn't change a thing. It's been tough at times, but it's also been interesting." Williams started off with the expectations that came with being the fourth-overall pick in the draft. The Mets selected him there in 1983 out of Herbert Hoover High School in San Diego. Williams started off at short-season Little Falls, moving to single-A Columbia to start 1984. In June, he was traded to the Reds. After playing at single-A Cedar Rapids in 1985, Williams was taken by the Indians in the rule 5 draft. After never playing higher than single-A, Williams made his major league ...
Read more

Steve Lombardozzi helped Twins to title, saw 6 ML seasons

-
Image
Newly minted Minnesota Twin Steve Lombardozzi picked up three hits in this September 1985 game, falling a home run short of the cycle in his 12th major league game, The Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote . "I've only been here a couple of weeks and this is my best game," Lombardozzi told The Star Tribune then. "I feel like I have the confidence in myself to field and hit up here, but I want to show everyone else that I can do it." For Lombardozzi, even better games were to come . Two years later, he'd be helping hit the Twins into the playoffs - and then to the World Series title. Lombardozzi's career began in 1981, taken by the Twins in the ninth round of the draft out of the University of Florida. Lombardozzi started with the Twins at rookie Elizabethton . He hit .321 in 65 games. He then made single-A Visalia in 1982, AA Orlando in 1983 and AAA Toledo in 1984. In 1985, he made Minnesota. He saw 28 games with the Twins that year and hit .370. He return...
Read more