Jermaine Dye PC - 89% Complete

I started collecting Jermaine Dye as a kid while listening to Royals games on the radio in the late 1990s. He flashed excellent power in the Royals big ballpark and had a cannon for an arm, winning a Gold Glove with the Royals in 2000. He, along with Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran, formed one of the best Royals outfields of all-time. One wonders what the Royals could have been if they had been able to hold onto all three. Jermaine played for the Braves, Royals, Athletics, and finished his career with the White Sox, where he won World Series MVP in 2005.

I track my inventory of his cards with TradingCardDatabase as well as manually in Excel for stat generation. My primary focus of collecting is Game-Used relic cards, the rest I fill in when the price is right. I don't collect printing plates or other 1/1s unless they include an autograph or relic.

Jermaine Dye's Authentic Game Used Royals Jersey

A custom booklet I made featuring game-used batting glove pieces.

Jermaine Dye's Authentic Game Used and Autographed Athletics Batting Glove

The ultimate relic card for Jermaine, his 1/1 Game-Used Bat Knob

Two Custom Booklets I made with a Jermaine Dye Batting Glove

Two is better than one! The other bat knob variation 1/1 from 2009 Topps Unique

Below you'll find a searchable photo gallery below. Clicking on any image will open a new window to my Google Drive folder where you can view the high res scan.

Pro Tip: Press Ctrl-F in your browser and then type in the card name you're looking for to jump straight to it. For example: "Triple Threads"

Atlanta Braves (1994-1996)

Jermaine is part of a select group of baseball players that have hit a home run in their first ever Major League at bat.

He connected for the notable blast on May 17th, 1996 against Marcus Moore of the Reds. He entered the game as a defensive replacement in the 5th inning, and then got his first turn to swing the bat in the 6th, where he made the most of his opportunity.

He made his mark in his first and only season with the Braves, playing a half season after replacing the injured David Justice and finishing 6th in the Rookie of the Year balloting. He stayed on with the team in the postseason, homering in the NLDS playoffs and helping the team make the World Series where they were eventually defeated by the Yankees.

Kansas City Royals (1997-2001)

Just before the start of the 1997 season, the Atlanta Braves traded Jermaine and a relief pitcher to the Royals in exchange for Keith Lockhart and Michael Tucker.

He struggled to stay healthy in '97 and '98, hitting well in AAA Omaha but struggling mightily with the big league club.

In 1999 it all came together, he was healthy for a full campaign and his hitting and fielding began to reach their potential. He slashed .294/.354/.526 and quickly became a fan favorite. The 2000 season was one of his finest efforts, as he hit .321/.390/.561 and earned the starting RF job for the American League All-Star team.

2001 was quieter from a performance standpoint, but he was still effective at the midway point in the season. Inexplicably, the Royals traded him in a three-team deal for the baseball disaster that was Neifi Perez, one of the worst trades in Royals history.

Oakland Athletics (2001-2004)

The Athletics were on the favorable end of the three team deal, and Jermaine quickly responded to the energy of a team in the thick of the playoff race. He improved every offensive and defensive statistic in the transition, and helped Oakland make the ALDS right before the start of the "Moneyball" era.

Unfortunately, injuries and slumps plagued him again and he struggled from 2002-2004 to maintain league average performance. At the conclusion of the '04 season, he hit free agency.

Chicago White Sox (2005-2009)

The White Sox signed Jermaine to a 2-year deal in 2005 and he began to return to form. He posted his best offensive numbers since '00 in his first campaign with the Sox and it culminated in a starring turn in the World Series. He hit an outstanding .438/.526/.688 with a home run, 3 runs batted in, and the clinching go ahead single in the final game to win World Series MVP.

He followed up with the best power output of his career in 2006. 44 HRs, 120 RBI, and a 1.006 OPS landed him an All-Star nod, a Silver Slugger, and a 5th Place finish in the AL MVP race, getting a 40% share of the vote.

He finished his career with the White Sox, announcing his retirement on March 31, 2011.

Images via JermaineDye.com, KansasCity.com, SIPhotos.com, MLB.com, and RoyalsReview.com

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