Jermaine Trevell Dye (born January 28, 1974) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

. Dye grew up in Northern California and was a multi-sport star at Will C. Wood High School in

Vacaville Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it ...

. Dye attended Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, where he played as a right fielder on a team that reached the playoffs. Dye played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

(1996), Kansas City Royals (1997–2001),

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

(2001–2004), and the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(2005–2009). He won the

World Series MVP The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The aw ...

with the White Sox in 2005. Dye batted and threw right-handed; in his prime, he was known for his ability to hit for power and his powerful throwing arm. Dye announced his retirement on March 31, 2011.

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

Dye was originally selected by the Texas Rangers in the 43rd round (1,210th overall) of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. A year later, he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 17th round (488th overall) of the 1993 MLB draft. Dye made his Major League debut with the Braves on May 17, 1996 against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, hitting a home run in his first Major League at-bat off Reds pitcher

Marcus Moore Marcus Braymont Moore (born November 2, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball player. A pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each ...

. He played in 98 games with the Braves in 1996, batting .281 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI.

Kansas City Royals

Dye was traded along with pitcher Jamie Walker to the Kansas City Royals on March 27, 1997 in exchange for outfielder Michael Tucker and infielder

Keith Lockhart Keith Alan Lockhart (born November 7, 1959) is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Caro ...

. In 1999, Dye had a breakout season, and he finished the season batting .294 with 27 home runs and 119 RBI. He was one of the more well-liked Royals at that time, with fans frequently chanting "Dye-no-mite" after he came up to bat. In 2000, Dye batted a career-high .321 with 33 home runs and 118 RBI in 157 games, and he made the American League All-Star team for the first time. He began 2001 with a .272 average, 13 home runs and 47 RBI in 97 games with Kansas City.

Oakland Athletics

On July 25, 2001, Dye was traded to the Oakland Athletics in a three-team trade that sent

Neifi Pérez Neifi Neftali Pérez (; ; born June 2, 1973) is a former Major League baseball player. He was a switch hitter who threw right-handed. During his career, he played with the Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cu ...

to the Royals. He chose to wear the jersey number 24, which would later be retired for

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...

. In 61 games with Oakland, Dye batted .297 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI. In October 2001, during the ALDS, Dye broke his leg when he fouled a ball off of his left knee. On January 16, 2002, Dye signed a three-year, $32 million extension with the Athletics. In 2002, Dye hit .252 with 24 home runs and 86 RBI in 131 games. He struggled with injury in 2003, enduring two stints on the disabled list with knee and shoulder injuries. In 65 games that season, Dye hit .172 with four home runs and 20 RBI. He stayed healthy in 2004, batting .265 with 23 home runs and 80 RBI in 137 games. After the season, the Athletics non-tendered Dye, making him a free agent.

Chicago White Sox

On December 9, 2004, Dye was signed by the

to a two-year, $10.15 million free-agent contract with an option for 2007. He played 145 games in 2005, the most since his injury, including an appearance at first base and shortstop. He batted .274 with 31 home runs and 86 RBI, slugged .512 and stole 11 bases in regular season play, and was named

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, batting .438 with one home run and 3 RBI. His RBI single off

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

closer

Brad Lidge Bradley Thomas Lidge (born December 23, 1976) nicknamed "Lights Out" is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lidge played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 2002–2012. He played for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phi ...

provided the deciding run in Chicago's 1–0 Game 4 victory, clinching the Series sweep. 2006 proved to be Dye's best offensive season; he finished second in the league with 44 home runs, third in slugging at .622, fifth in runs batted in with 120, batted .315, and placed fifth in AL Most Valuable Player voting. On

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...

, May 14, Dye was one of more than 50 hitters who used a

pink bat In baseball, pink bats are limited-supply baseball bats manufactured by Louisville Slugger for use by select Major League Baseball players on Mother's Day, first introduced in 2006 in association with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization. E ...

to benefit th
Breast Cancer Foundation
Dye was selected to the American League All-Star Team for the second time in his career after a scorching first half in which he batted .318, struck 25 home runs and slugged .646. Dye was also awarded a Silver Slugger for his offensive performance. On October 30, 2006, the White Sox exercised their $6.75 million option for Dye's 2007 season. Dye, along with many other Chicago hitters, struggled in the first half of 2007, including a cold June in which he batted just .203 with one home run. He turned his game around in the second half, batting .298 and knocking out 20 doubles and 16 home runs. Dye finished the season with a batting line of .254/.317/.486, and hit 28 home runs while recording 78 RBI in 138 games. On August 18, 2007, he signed a two-year, $22 million contract extension with the White Sox that included a mutual option for the 2010 season. Dye returned to form in 2008 for the division champion White Sox, finishing tied for second in the American League with 77 extra-base hits and batting .292 with 34 home runs and 96 RBI in 154 games. Dye finished second to Tampa Bay's

Evan Longoria Evan Michael Longoria (born October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Longo", is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2008 through 2017, and the S ...

in Final Vote balloting for the last spot on the American League All-Star roster. In 2009, Dye had opposite effectiveness in the first and second halves of the season. Before the All-Star break, he hit .302 with 20 home runs and 55 RBIs, but afterwards, he hit .179 with seven home runs and 26 RBI. Overall, he finished the season batting .250 with 27 home runs and 81 RBI in 141 games. On November 6, 2009, Dye's $12 million mutual option was bought out for $950,000, making him a free agent. On March 31, 2011, Dye announced his retirement.

Career statistics

In the postseason, covering 44 games, Dye batted .270 (44-for-163) with 16 runs, nine doubles, five home runs, 17 RBI and 12 walks.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dye, Jermaine 1974 births Living people Major League Baseball right fielders Atlanta Braves players Kansas City Royals players Oakland Athletics players Chicago White Sox players Cosumnes River Hawks baseball players Richmond Braves players American League All-Stars Baseball players from Oakland, California World Series Most Valuable Player Award winners African-American baseball players Gold Glove Award winners People from Vacaville, California Silver Slugger Award winners 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople