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Grand Slam parade has ’14 marshal

Dave Winfield, former slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres and a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, will serve as grand marshal of this year’s Little League Grand Slam Parade, Williamsport Lycoming Chamber of Commerce officials announced Friday.

The parade, featuring Little League teams from around the globe competing in the 2014 World Series, will kick off at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13.

Sponsored by the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau of the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, the parade in recent years has become an annual tradition in downtown Williamsport on the eve of the World Series.

Winfield also will appear at the Little League breakfast set for Aug. 14 at the Genetti Hotel.

Winfield was selected by the San Diego Padres in the first round of the 1973 baseball draft out of the University of Minnesota, where he starred in both baseball and basketball.

He also was drafted out of college by teams in the National Basketball Association and also by the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League, despite having never played college football.

Winfield, 62, played for six Major League teams.

Over the course of his 23-year career, he swatted 465 home runs and collected 3,110 hits. Just 28 players have recorded as many as 3,000 hits in their Major League careers.

A very durable player, he appeared in at least 150 games in 10 different seasons.

Winfield retired from the Major Leagues in 1996.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, his first year of eligibility.

In 2004, ESPN named him the third best all-around athlete in any sport.

Long involved in various philanthropic causes, Winfield launched the Dave Winfield Foundation in 1977, an organization for serving underprivileged youth.

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