Jermaine Dye debuts on BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot
Jermaine Dye was playing in the World Series as a 22-year-old rookie in 1996. Nine years later, he was the World Series Most Valuable Player.
And throughout his 14-year big league career, Dye proved to be one of the most consistent hitters in the game, becoming one of just 110 players to hit at least 325 home runs.
Now, Dye stands at the cusp of Cooperstown.
Dye debuts on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot this fall, one of 34 players on the 2015 BBWAA ballot for the Class of 2015.
BBWAA members who have at least 10 years of tenure with the organization can vote in the election, and the results will be announced Jan. 6. Any candidate who receives at least 75 percent of all BBWAA votes cast will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2015. The Induction Ceremony will be held July 26 in Cooperstown.
Bio
Born Jan. 28, 1974 in Oakland, Calif., Dye attended Cosumnes River College in Sacramento following high school and played right field for their baseball team. The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder was taken in the 17th round of the 1993 MLB Draft by the Braves, and made his big league debut on May 17, 1996 – stepping onto a Braves team that won the World Series the year before.
Dye appeared in 98 games that year, hitting 12 home runs and finishing sixth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. He appeared in 15 of the Braves postseason games that year as Atlanta defended its NL crown before falling to the Yankees in the World Series.
Dye was traded to the Royals just prior to the 1997 season in a deal with Jamie Walker for Keith Lockhart and Michael Tucker, starting a 13-year run in the American League. Dye hit 27 home runs and drove in 119 runs in 1999, then earned his first All-Star Game selection in 2000 en route to 33 home runs, 118 RBI and a Gold Glove Award in right field.
“Dye is a classic right fielder and gives our club the right-handed power that we have been looking for,” said Royals general manager Herk Robinson at the time of the trade.
Traded to Colorado and then immediately to Oakland on July 25, 2001, Dye remained with the A’s through 2004, signing with the White Sox prior to the 2005 season. In his first year in Chicago, Dye hit 31 home runs and drove in 86 runs – and led the Sox to their first World Series title in 88 years when he hit .438 in Chicago’s sweep of Houston, taking home the World Series Most Valuable Player Award.
From 2005-09 with the White Sox, Dye averaged 33 home runs and 92 RBI per season. He retired prior to the 2011 season after sitting out the 2010 campaign.
A two-time All-Star and a 2006 Silver Slugger Award winner, Dye finished his career with a .274 batting average, 1,072 RBI and his 325 home runs.
