David Justice facts for kids
Quick facts for kids David Justice |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Justice in 2011
|
|||
| Outfielder | |||
| Born: April 14, 1966 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
|||
|
|||
| debut | |||
| May 24, 1989, for the Atlanta Braves | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| September 29, 2002, for the Oakland Athletics | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .279 | ||
| Home runs | 305 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,017 | ||
| Teams | |||
|
|||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
David Christopher Justice (born April 14, 1966) is a former American professional baseball player. He was an outfielder and designated hitter for 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). David Justice won the World Series with both the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees. He was also named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1990. He was chosen for the MLB All-Star team three times.
Contents
Early Life
David Justice grew up Catholic. He went to Covington Latin School, a Catholic school near his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Later, he attended Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. He went there on a basketball scholarship.
Professional Baseball Career
Atlanta Braves
Justice started his major league career in May 1989 with the Atlanta Braves. He became the team's starting right fielder in August 1990. This happened after popular player Dale Murphy was traded. Justice had a great second half of the season. He hit 28 home runs. This helped him win the National League's Rookie of the Year Award.
In 1991, the Braves played very well and moved to the top of their division. Justice was leading the National League in runs batted in (RBIs). However, a back injury in June kept him from playing for a while. Even with the injury, he finished with 87 RBIs. He also played in his first World Series.
After a small dip in his performance in 1992, Justice had a strong 1993 season. He hit 40 home runs and had 120 RBIs. He also had 78 walks. He finished third in the MVP voting that year. In 1994, the season ended early because of a strike. Before the strike, Justice was batting .313.
When baseball returned in 1995, Justice helped the Braves reach the World Series. They played against the Cleveland Indians. Justice made headlines when he shared his thoughts about fan support. But he became a hero in Game 6 of the World Series. His important home run was the only run scored in a 1–0 game. This win clinched the championship for the Braves. In May 1996, Justice hurt his shoulder during a game. This injury ended his season.
Cleveland Indians
Before the 1997 season, the Braves traded Justice and outfielder Marquis Grissom to the Cleveland Indians. In return, the Braves received outfielder Kenny Lofton and relief pitcher Alan Embree. In 1997, Justice batted .329 and hit 33 home runs. He also made another World Series appearance with the Indians. In 1998 and 1999, he hit 21 home runs and had 88 RBIs each season. By June 29, 2000, he had already hit 21 home runs that year.
New York Yankees
On June 29, 2000, the Indians traded Justice to the New York Yankees. He was traded for outfielder Ricky Ledée and two other players. Justice won the League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award for the 2000 American League Championship Series. This helped the Yankees win his second World Series championship. Between the Indians and Yankees, Justice hit a career-high 41 home runs in 2000. His performance dropped in 2001. A groin injury put him on the disabled list twice.
Oakland Athletics
The Yankees traded Justice to the New York Mets in December 2001. A week later, the Mets traded him to the Oakland Athletics. Justice was named the American League Player of the Week for the first week of the 2002 season. He was also part of the Athletics' 20-game winning streak that year.
Career Totals
Justice finished his career with a .279 batting average. He had 929 runs, 1,571 hits, and 305 home runs. He also had 1,017 RBIs in 1,610 games. From 1991 to his last season in 2002, Justice's teams made it to the postseason every year. The only exception was the strike-shortened 1994 season. His teams reached the World Series seven times and won twice. He is among the top players in many postseason statistics.
Honors
On May 9, 1994, David Justice was featured in People's "50 Most Beautiful People" issue. The article mentioned he received a lot of fan mail. It also said he was very popular at charity events.
In March 2007, it was announced that Justice would be added to the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame. He was the first player from the Braves' teams that won 14 division titles in a row (1991–2005) to be inducted. The ceremony took place on August 17, 2007. Many former Braves players and coaches were there. Tributes from Braves legend Hank Aaron and former owner Ted Turner were shown.
Justice was eligible for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. However, he received only one vote. This meant he could not be considered for future ballots. This vote happened shortly after the Mitchell Report was released. This report mentioned many players in connection with performance-enhancing substances. Justice was one of the players named in the report.
Broadcasting Career
After his playing career, Justice worked as a commentator for ESPN baseball broadcasts for two years. He then joined the YES Network for the New York Yankees. He was an analyst for games and studio shows. He also hosted a youth show called Yankees on Deck. Before the 2008 season, the YES Network announced Justice would not be on air. He would still write articles for their website. Justice said this change was not because of the Mitchell Report. It was because his home was destroyed in the 2007 California wildfires. Also, his mother had recently passed away. Justice never returned to the network.
Justice also appeared on TV shows. He was on an episode of The Young and the Restless in 1992. He was also on an episode of Arli$$ in 1997. He was played by Stephen Bishop in the movie Moneyball. This movie was based on the book about the Oakland Athletics baseball team.
Personal Life
On New Year's Day 1993, Justice married film actress Halle Berry. They later divorced on June 20, 1997.
He married Rebecca Villalobos on February 8, 2001. Rebecca is the CEO of Exotic Spices Calendars. They have three children: David Jr., Dionisio, and Raquel. In 2014, the family appeared on an episode of Celebrity Wife Swap. This inspired Raquel to pursue acting.
See also
In Spanish: David Justice para niños
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report
Images for kids
-
Justice in 2011
