David Justice

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David Justice
Right fielder
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
May 24, 1989 for the Atlanta Braves
Final game
September 29, 2002 for the Oakland Athletics
Career statistics
Batting average     .279
Home runs     305
RBI     1017
Teams
Career highlights and awards

David Christopher Justice (born April 14, 1966 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves (1989-96), Cleveland Indians (1997-2000), New York Yankees (2000-01), and Oakland Athletics (2002).

Contents

[edit] Career with the Braves

Justice made his major league debut in May 1989, playing for the last-place Braves. The young right fielder earned the starting job after Braves fan favorite Dale Murphy was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. Justice promptly went on an offensive tear during the second half of the 1990 season, finishing with 28 home runs, which certainly helped him claim the National League's Rookie of the Year Award. In 1991, the Braves suddenly found themselves as a winning team, and Justice, who finished with 87 runs batted in despite being injured for part of the season, played in his first World Series. After seeing his production slide slightly in 1992, Justice enjoyed a monster 1993 season. He clubbed 40 home runs and 120 RBIs with 78 walks, finishing third in MVP voting behind Barry Bonds and Lenny Dykstra. Justice was batting .312 with a .427 on base percentage and .331 slugging average when the strike ended play in 1994.

When baseball returned in 1995, Justice helped his teammates to victory in the 1995 World Series against the Cleveland Indians with a crucial home run in Game 6 to provide the only run in 1-0 game that clinched the championship. In May 1996, a swing and miss in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates caused a season-ending shoulder injury. It would prove to be Justice's last at bat as a Brave. He was traded on March 25, 1997 along with Marquis Grissom to Cleveland for Kenny Lofton and Alan Embree. On ESPN, Justice stated, "I love the Braves, so when John Schuerholz looked me in my face and told me "I bet my house and my family that you won't be traded" that's good enough confidence for me coming from a General Manager, 1 week later GONE."

In March of 2007, it was announced that David Justice will be inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame. He will be the first member of any of the Braves 14 consective division title teams to be inducted in the Braves Hall of Fame. The induction will take place on Aug. 17, 2007.

[edit] American League career

Justice proved right away that he had many good years left. He hit .329 with a .418 OBP and .596 slugging average in 1997, with 33 home runs, while making another World Series appearance. He posted solid numbers in 1998 and 1999 with Cleveland before his big year in 2000. That season, he hit .286 with a .377 OBP and .584 slugging average, and slugged 41 homers with 118 RBIs. His strong season persuaded the New York Yankees to trade three players for him in late June. Justice won the 2000 AL Championship Series MVP Award en route to his second world championship.

His production slid considerably in 2001, and he was traded to the New York Mets, then the Oakland Athletics after the season. He played a final season on an Oakland team which reached the playoffs in 2002. Justice finished his career as a .279 hitter, with a .378 OBP and .500 slugging average, 305 home runs, 903 walks and 1017 RBI in 1610 games.

[edit] Trivia

  • Justice graduated from Covington, Kentucky Covington Latin School at age 16 in 1982. He skipped the seventh and eighth grades.
  • Attended Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
  • While growing up, he wanted to play in the NBA. His mother didn't think he would make it to the NBA and stressed that he receive a good education.
  • Justice was married to film actress Halle Berry between 1993 and 1996. The marriage ended after years of reported abuse on Justice's part. It is rumored he is the reason Berry is deaf in one ear. He is currently married to Rebecca Villalobos. They have one son together.
  • In fourteen seasons in the league, Justice reached the World Series six times (1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2000, and 2001) and made the playoffs ten times (with each of his four teams).
  • Justice hit a pivotal home run in Game 6 of the 1995 World Series. The run was crucial as it proved to be the only run scored in the game. Justice's Atlanta Braves wound up clinching the World Championship against the Cleveland Indians.
  • For two years, Justice was a color commentator for ESPN's baseball telecasts. Currently, he serves as a game and studio analyst for the YES Network's New York Yankees telecasts, and hosts the network's Kids on Deck.
  • Justice's addition to Oakland was referred to as an 'experiment' by A's assistant GM Paul Deposteta.[1] The experiment was to evaluate whether hitters retained their ability to get on base as they got older (kept their batter's eye). His .378 OBP and BB/K ratio of greater than 1:1 seemed to prove that correct.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://danjulien.atspace.com/beane.htm

http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/03/26/0327justice.html

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Barry Bonds		 National League Player of the Month
August 1990		 Succeeded by
Kal Daniels
Preceded by
Jerome Walton		 National League Rookie of the Year
1990		 Succeeded by
Jeff Bagwell
Preceded by
Félix José		 National League Player of the Month
May 1991		 Succeeded by
Barry Larkin
Preceded by
Kevin Elster		 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award
1997		 Succeeded by
Bret Saberhagen
Preceded by
Orlando Hernandez		 American League Championship Series MVP
2000		 Succeeded by
Andy Pettitte
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