| David Justice | |
|---|---|
 Justice in 2011 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: (1966-04-14)April 14, 1966 (age 59) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 24, 1989, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 2002, for the Oakland Athletics | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .279 |
| Home runs | 305 |
| Runs batted in | 1,017 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
David Christopher Justice (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professionalbaseballoutfielder anddesignated hitter who played 14 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB). He won theWorld Series with theAtlanta Braves and theNew York Yankees, won theNational League Rookie of the Year Award in 1990, and was a three-timeMLB All-Star. He also played for theCleveland Indians and theOakland Athletics.
Justice was raisedCatholic, and attended high school atCovington Latin School, a Catholic school across the river from his hometown ofCincinnati, Ohio.[1] He later attendedThomas More College inCrestview Hills, Kentucky, on a basketball scholarship.[2] In June 1985, theAtlanta Braves selected Justice in the fourth round (No. 94 overall) of the1985 Major League Baseball draft.
Justice made his major league debut in May 1989,[3] playing for theAtlanta Braves. The then 23-year-old right fielder earned the starting job after Braves fan favoriteDale Murphy was traded to thePhiladelphia Phillies in August 1990.[4] Justice promptly went on an offensive tear during the second half of theseason, finishing with 28home runs, which helped him claim theNational League'sRookie of the Year Award.[5] In 1991, the upstart Braves surged to the top of their division and Justice was leading the National League inruns batted in when he was sidelined by a nagging back injury in June.[6] He finished with 87 runs batted in despite the injury and played in his firstWorld Series.
After seeing his production slide slightly in 1992, Justice enjoyed a solid1993 season. He clubbed 40home runs and 120runs batted in (RBIs) with 78walks, finishing third inMVP voting behindBarry Bonds andLenny Dykstra.[7] Justice wasbatting .313 with a .427on-base percentage and .531slugging average when thestrike ended play in 1994. When baseball returned in 1995, Justice helped his Braves to theWorld Series against theCleveland Indians. He drew attention (and boos) when he criticized Atlanta fans for the level of support they were providing the team.[8] However, Justice ended up a hero when his crucialhome run in Game 6 provided the only run in a 1–0 game that clinched the championship.[9]
In May 1996, a swing and miss in a game against thePittsburgh Pirates caused a season-ending shoulder separation.[10]
Just before the start of the 1997 season, the Braves traded Justice along withoutfielderMarquis Grissom to theCleveland Indians foroutfielderKenny Lofton andrelief pitcherAlan Embree.[11] He hit .329 with a .418OBP and .596slugging percentage in 1997, with 33home runs, while making anotherWorld Series appearance. In 1998, he had 21 home runs, 88 RBIs, and a .476 slugging percentage, numbers he repeated exactly in 1999, though in 13 fewer games played. In 2000, he already had 21 home runs by June 29.[12]
On June 29, 2000, the Indians traded Justice to the New York Yankees for outfielderRicky Ledée and twoplayers to be named, who turned out to be pitchersJake Westbrook andZach Day.[13] Justice won theLeague Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award for the2000 American League Championship Series en route to his second World Series championship.[14] Between the Indians and Yankees, Justice hit a career-high 41 home runs in 2000. His production slid considerably in 2001, when a groin injury put him on the disabled list twice.[15]
The Yankees traded Justice to theNew York Mets on December 7, 2001, for third basemanRobin Ventura.[16] A week later, the Mets dealt him to theOakland Athletics in exchange for pitchersMark Guthrie andTyler Yates.[17] Justice was named the American League Player of the Week for the first week of the 2002 season,[18] and was part of the Athletics'20-game winning streak that year.[19] After hitting 11 home runs with a .266 average and .785On-base plus slugging at age 36, Justice announced his retirement onDan Patrick's radio show, citing "a diminished desire to play".[20]
Justice finished his career with a .279 batting average, with a .378 OBP and .500slugging percentage, 929 runs, 1,571 hits, 280 doubles, 24 triples, 305 home runs, 903walks and 1,017 RBIs in 1,610 games. From 1991 to his last season in 2002, Justice's teams made the postseason every year (with the exception of the strike-shortened 1994 season), and reached theWorld Series six times, winning twice. He is in the top ten in a number of career postseason categories, such as at-bats, games played, hits, doubles and runs scored.[21]
On May 9, 1994, Justice was listed inPeople's "50 Most Beautiful People" issue (Vol. 41 No. 17). The article goes on to state: "'I check my face to make sure there's nothing sticking on it,' he says. 'But I don't make sure every hair's in place.' He needn't worry. He gets the most fan mail on the team and is mobbed when he makes personal appearances on behalf of charities."[22][23]
In March 2007, it was announced that Justice would be inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame. He was the first member of any of the Braves' 14 consecutive division title teams (1991–2005, excluding the strike-shortened season in 1994) to be inducted in the Braves Hall of Fame. The induction took place on August 17, 2007. Numerous ex-Braves players and coaches were in attendance and tribute videos from Braves legendHank Aaron and former ownerTed Turner were shown. Prior to that evening's game Justice was presented with a portrait by sports artist Bart Forbes during an on-field ceremony.[24]
Justice was eligible for theMajor League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008,[25] but he received only one vote, preventing him from being named on future ballots.[26]
In an interview for theMitchell Report, released December 13, 2007, Justice denied using performance-enhancing substances, but was willing to report the names of individuals he suspected, though he claimed to have no direct knowledge of any other player's steroid use. He also claims to have never been warned of the side effects ofsteroids or explicitly told steroids were a banned substance. The Mitchell Report states that in a later interview, formerNew York Mets clubhouse attendantKirk Radomski claimed to have sold Justice human growth hormone when Justice was with the Yankees after the 2000 World Series. Justice has called the allegation "a bald-faced lie" and says that he has never met Radomski.[27]
Justice has claimed that his only involvement with performance-enhancing drugs was a discussion aboutHGH in 2000 withBrian McNamee, then theNew York Yankees' strength coach. Justice, who had shoulder problems, thought that HGH might aid in his recovery. Justice stated that after the discussion, he went to his locker and found a bag containing HGH and several injection needles; Justice claimed that he was unwilling to inject himself and never used any of it. Justice further stated in the interviews that all claims in the Mitchell Report concerning his alleged purchase and use of any performance-enhancing drugs were false and encouraged all players whose names appear in the report, especiallyRoger Clemens, to publicly deny any claims made by the Mitchell Report if they are untrue.[28]
After his playing career, Justice served as a commentator forESPN baseball telecasts for two years. He later joined theYES Network of theNew York Yankees as a game and studio analyst, and also hosted the network's youth-oriented program Yankees on Deck.[29] Prior to the 2008 season, the YES Network announced that Justice would not appear on air during that season,[30] but would contribute articles to the network's website. Justice stated that this change was not in response to his inclusion in the Mitchell report, but was due to the destruction of hisSan Diego County home in the2007 California wildfires[31] and the recent passing of his mother.[32][33] Justice never returned to the network.
Justice has also appeared on a 1992 episode ofThe Young and the Restless[34] and a 1997 episode ofArli$$.[35] He was played byStephen Bishop inMoneyball, the film adaptation of the best-selling Michael Lewis bookMoneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager,Billy Beane.[36]
On New Year's Day 1993, Justice married film actressHalle Berry. The couple resided inSandy Springs, Georgia. They separated on February 22, 1996, and divorced on June 20, 1997.[37] The marriage ended acrimoniously, with Berry seeking arestraining order against Justice.
He married Rebecca Villalobos on February 8, 2001.[38] Villalobos is CEO of Exotic Spices Calendars.[39] They have three children: David Jr., Dionisio, and Raquel.[40] In 2014, the family was on an episode ofCelebrity Wife Swap,[41][42] inspiring Raquel to pursue acting.[43]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)| Preceded by | National League Player of the Month August 1990 May 1991 | Succeeded by |