Winfield Upset by All-Star Snub : Baseball: Outfielder is mad he was passed over for ballot after missing last season with back trouble.

Never mind that Dave Winfield isn’t playing like an All-Star this season. He’s upset that the New York Yankees left him off the All-Star ballot.

“It’s a slight, not an oversight,” Winfield said Tuesday in Oakland, where the Yankees played the Athletics. “I think it’s weak. I’ve been in 12 in a row when I was healthy, more than the rest of the guys on this team put together.”

Winfield played in each All-Star Game from 1977 to ’88. He missed last year when he was out the entire season because of back trouble.

Winfield is batting only .217 with two home runs and six runs batted in this year. He recently endured an 0-for-23 slump, matching the longest of his career, and was benched against right-handers.

Never mind the bad numbers, Winfield said. He contends it was an insult not to be nominated for the ballot, a carry-over from his long-running feud with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

General managers submit names for the All-Star ballot in March. Only three outfielders from each team can be picked, and Roberto Kelly, Jesse Barfield and Mel Hall were nominated by the Yankees.

“Whoever made the decision should be fired,” Winfield said. “I’d like to know the reason my name wasn’t there. They knew I was healthy. I’d like to get a name of the person who made the decision.”

That person was Yankees General Manager Harding Peterson.

“It was my decision to pick Hall over Winfield,” Peterson said. “I didn’t feel good about it. I wish we could have had both.

“At the time, we weren’t sure how much (Winfield) would play. He didn’t play for us at all last year and Hall had a good year for us.”

That explanation didn’t sit well with Winfield.

“You gonna put the other guys on instead of me? Give me a break. It’s ridiculous,” Winfield said. “You know, if I play I’ll put up the best numbers of any outfielder we have.”