Herman Son Winningham (born December 1, 1961) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He played all or part of nine seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB), primarily as a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

, for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Career

Drafted by the

in the first round of the

1981 Major League Baseball Draft The 1981 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1981. The draft saw the Seattle Mariners select Mike Moore (baseball), Mike Moore first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Ba ...

, Winningham made his major league debut with the Mets on September 1, 1984. At one time a highly regarded prospect in the

chain, he was a part of the

Gary Carter Gary Edmund Carter (April 8, 1954 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball catcher whose 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. Nicknamed "Kid" for his youth ...

trade, along with Hubie Brooks, Floyd Youmans, and Mike Fitzgerald. His talents never caught up to his statistics as he was primarily a reserve outfielder for most of his career. His final game was with the

on October 3, 1992. Winningham was a member of the Cincinnati Reds team that defeated the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in the

1990 National League Championship Series The 1990 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff series in Major League Baseball’s 1990 postseason played between the Cincinnati Reds (91–71) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (95–67). It was the first playoff appearance f ...

and the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

. In the last game of the World Series, he replaced an injured

Billy Hatcher William Augustus Hatcher (born October 4, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first base coach. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phil ...

, went 2-for-3 and scored the winning run. During the 1990 postseason, he batted .364. In 1995, Winningham was a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an sportsperson, athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a Strike action, strike or Lockout (industry), lockout, serving as a strikebre ...

during the ongoing strike for

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

Post-playing career

Winningham was the head coach of the Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School baseball team in his hometown of Orangeburg. He was suspended in 2013 after allegedly attacking a player on his team in the dugout during a pre-season game. He denied the allegations.

References

External links

Retrosheet
1961 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from South Carolina Baseball players from Orangeburg County, South Carolina Boston Red Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Georgia Perimeter Jaguars baseball players Indianapolis Indians players Jackson Mets players Kingsport Mets players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Lynchburg Mets players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball replacement players Montreal Expos players New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Pawtucket Red Sox players Sportspeople from Orangeburg, South Carolina Tidewater Tides players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen {{US-baseball-outfielder-1960s-stub