Randy Winn reflects on Bronco past

By Cecile Nguyen

San Francisco Giants outfielder and Santa Clara alumnus Randy Winn led the Giants with a .306 batting average as they finished their season this past Sunday with a 3-1 victory over the National League West Champions Los Angeles Dodgers.

Winn sat down with The Santa Clara Sports Editor Cecile Nguyen and talked about baseball, his time at Santa Clara and his future.

TSC: What did you study at Santa Clara?

Randy Winn: I was a marketing major.

TSC: Was marketing your favorite class?

RW: I had a lot of fun, interesting classes, especially my elective classes, but it was the classes in the business school that most appealed to me.

TSC: What was your least favorite class?

RW: Hmm, I think it was my first economics class.

TSC: Do you remember who taught that class?

RW: Yes, but I'm not going to say (laughing). My second two (economics classes), I loved them. I loved my professor. Gosh, I wish I could remember his name. It wasn't that I didn't like econ., it was just that my first one was rough.

TSC: Where did you live when you were at Santa Clara?

RW: My first year I was at Graham 200. My second year I stayed at the Alamedas and then my third year I stayed at the Fireplace.

TSC: What was your favorite Benson food, if you can even remember?

RW: When I was in school -- my first year -- we had Marriott do the catering, and it was kind of the all-you-can-eat system because now don't you guys have the points? I was kind of a big eater so the all-you-can-eat really appealed to me. I think they got rid of that my junior or senior year when my brother came in, somewhere around there.

TSC: Wasn't Steve Nash your roommate?

RW: We lived in the same dorms, Graham 200, and he was like two doors down.

The Alamedas, he was like downstairs from me. And when we lived in Fireplace, we lived in the same house.

TSC: So what's one thing people would be surprised to learn about Steve Nash?

RW: Let me get back to you on that one.

TSC: What's one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?

RW: Hmm, I don't know. That's a hard question.

TSC: What's it like always being compared to Nash, both athletes from a small private school making it big in your respective sports?

RW: I don't mind it because we're good friends. We came in the same year, we played basketball together for two years, we always lived close together on campus. I don't mind it. I mean, I like Steve. I think Steve's a great person. He's obviously a great basketball player, but more importantly, he's a good person.

It's cool to be compared to him, especially coming from a small school. There's not a whole lot of athletes that come out of Santa Clara and make it professionally, and then you know to have two guys to make it. I've been an All-Star and he's been several times All-Star and a couple of times MVP. I mean it's cool being linked to him.

TSC: Do you keep in contact with him?

RW: Yeah, I usually see him during spring training. During the season when we're in Arizona or something like that I'll see him. In the offseason when he comes to town to play we usually catch up.

Our schedule is so weird that we don't get a whole lot of time, but when we're in the same city we make a point to catch up.

TSC: What are your thoughts on your former basketball coach Dick Davey's retirement?

RW: I thought that it could've been handled better, especially for a guy who has given so much of his life to the university. But I understand that the university wanted to make a change. I don't think there's a problem with making changes in coaching, but I just thought it could have been handled a little better. It shed a lot of negative light on the university. I'm happy for Coach that he's now gotten another opportunity and that he seems happy.

TSC: Do you still keep in touch with Coach Davey?

RW: Yes. This year I went back and I saw two or three basketball games and he was in attendance. A couple of guys that I played with went back also, so we spent some time catching up.

TSC: Did you have a chance to check out the new library when you were on campus?

RW: No, it wasn't finished yet, but it looks really, really nice. They were still doing construction.

TSC: How were you as a basketball player?

RW: I didn't play a whole lot. I ended up redshirting my freshman year, and I played just a little bit my sophomore year. And after my sophomore year my baseball coach said I had to decide between the two. Coach Davey was going to give me a scholarship if I kept playing basketball. I had a feeling, I mean, I knew I had to choose one and was pretty sure that was going to be baseball.

TSC: What was the thought process behind your decision between the two sports?

RW: I knew before I went into college. I mean, I had a pretty good idea, but I enjoyed basketball then and I still love it now. I love playing it and I wanted a chance to play it at a Division I school.

TSC: Besides playing basketball and baseball, what else did you do with your free time at Santa Clara?

RW: Actually, then The Claran was a little bit more popular than The Hut. After my freshman year, Little John's closed -- but of course I didn't go because I was underage. But for some reason The Claran was a bit more popular while I was there toward the end of my years. But what I did for fun was I went to the library and I studied. That was my fun (laughing).

TSC: What was your fondest memory at Santa Clara?

RW: Hanging out with my friends.

TSC: What were your favorite sports teams growing up?

RW: Baseball teams? I didn't really have a favorite baseball team. I had favorite players. I came to tons of games here (in Oakland) because from where I live I can take BART. I also went to Giants games.

I just enjoyed baseball and watching the good players. When I was in junior high in the late '80s, the Giants and the A's were both really good and had really great players.

TSC: What are your thoughts on playing on a Bay Area baseball team, a team you grew up watching?

RW: It's like a homecoming for me and for my wife. We both went to Santa Clara, we both grew up in the Bay Area.

So, to come back here kind of later on in my career it's been fun because there are still a lot of my friends from college who are in the Bay Area and my parents are here and my brothers are here. With our family and friends close by it's been great.

TSC: How has being a professional athlete affected your personal life? You have kids.

RW: You get more attention when you go out to dinner and trying to have a quiet dinner or run out to the supermarket for diapers or something like that.

You get a little more attention, but people here are really nice and respectful.

We have a 15-year-old and a six-month old. I'm not going to push them into anything. I just want them to enjoy life, be the best students they can, but most of all be the best people they can be.

TSC: What do you like to do with your free time away from sports with family?

RW: I like to travel. We don't get a whole lot of time during the season to do much, so my first month of the offseason I like to relax and travel a bit. But this offseason kind of just hang out with the kids.

TSC: What's next for you, after baseball, or is that too far away for you?

RW: Hopefully, that's still far away.

But when I'm done I'm going to take a year or two off and relax and be with the kids and family, talk to my wife and go from there.

TSC: So when everything is said and done, what do you want to be remembered for?

RW: I want to be remembered as a good person, as a good player and a good competitor.

TSC: Any advice for Santa Clara students?

RW: Keep an open mind. Get as much knowledge as you can. I think Santa Clara is a good university, and a lot of people get pigeonholed into what they think they're going to do at an early age, but just keep an open mind and take as many classes or courses as you can. Experience life and have fun.

Contact Cecile Nguyen at (408) 551-1918 or at sports@thesantaclara.com