1996 Topps All Star Rookie Outfielder Jermaine Dye

The Topps All-Star Rookie Team loves the guy who can shine in an unexpected role. Jermaine Dye got the opportunity to start in Atlanta in his rookie year due to an injury to Braves' star outfielder David Justice. Though he appeared in just 96 games for Atlanta, he came up big -- hitting a dozen homers and racking up 134 total bases. He also came to the big leagues ready to hit - his very first plate appearance was a home run! He was the first Brave to hit a homer in their first plate appearance since Chuck Tanner in 1955 (when the team was still in Milwaukee!)

Dye finished in 6th place in the NL Rookie of the year voting, thanks to his key role on a playoff team. Dye homered in the NLDS, though his post season as a whole left a little to be desired at the plate. He was just 22 years old, however, and would use that experience to his advantage.

Jermaine Dye was a 17th round selection by the Braves in the 1993 MLB Draft. He was a three sport (Baseball, Basketball, and Football) at Wood High School in Vacaville, CA. Dye had scholarship offers to play football for BYU, basketball for UNLV. But he grew up idolizing Chili Davis with the Giants, who he could watch often. His father drove the Bay Area Muni bus, and his route would take him past Candlestick Park every day. Jermaine and his sister would get a ride to the game from their dad, who was also Jermaine's primary hitting coach and mentor.  Dye grew to be 6'4" tall and promised power to all fields. Jermaine's primary position in High school and College, however, was as a dominant pitcher. After a season in college, the Braves drafted Dye, ultimately deciding that hitting would take him further than his arm alone. He did boast a cannon from the outfield, throwing out runners with ease.  Dye would jump a level every year, hitting at each stop along the way. His debut with the Braves may have come out of necessity with the injury to Justice, but Dye made the most of it.

Following that promising 1996 season, Dye was traded to the Royals for Michael Tucker and Keith Lockhart. The first couple years in Kansas City could be called disappointing - he was tagged with the label of being injury prone. It turned out that he was just snake-bitten and a victim of some bad luck. Once he was able to play a full season, Dye proved the detractors wrong. His tremendous 1999 led to an All-Star selection in 2000. He made the roster as a starter - the first Royal to be elected to the All-Star Game by the fans since Bo Jackson in 1989. He would also earn a Gold Glove for his solid defensive work in the outfield. His final two and a half seasons in Kansas City made him a rising star, hitting over 100 RBI and scoring over 100 runs in 2000 to go with a .321 batting average.

Dye would be traded mid-season in 2001 to the Oakland A's. He responded in his first full month back in the Bay Area where he grew up by being named the AL player of the month. He hit .330 with 7 homers, 32 RBI, and scored 22 runs in the month of August. The A's would make the playoffs in each of the next three seasons with Dye patrolling the outfield. The injury bug would bite him again in Oakland. He was not much of a base stealer, but Dye's running game was all but shut down at this point in his career due to various leg and knee injuries. Though the lost time made some critical of Jermaine's production in Oakland, he did play better than league average at the plate and in the field over his time in Oakland. He also hit .400 with a pair of doubles in the 2002 ALDS against the Twins, and contributed another homer in the 2003 ALDS despite only playing in 65 regular season games.

The best years of his pro career came in Chicago. He signed with the White Sox after the 2004 season and made an instant impact, as the team went all the way to the World Series. Dye was the World Series MVP, hitting .438 with a homer and 3 RBI in the Series sweep over Houston. Dye would follow that MVP performance with his best full Season in the bigs. He hit 44 homers and drove in 120 Runs with a career high 1.006 OPS. He won a Silver Slugger, made his 2nd All-Star team, and finished 5th in the league MVP voting. Over the 3 year stretch from '05 through '07, no AL outfielder hit more homers than Jermaine Dye. For his Chicago career, Dye crushed 164 home runs and slugged .525. His OPS+ over that span was a robust 121.

Though injuries delayed his emergence as a star and interrupted his career in Oakland, he still had a tremendous 14 year career that included over 1,750 career hits, 325 Homers, and over 1,000 RBI. He was not one to take a walk, with a walk rate of just 8.3% vs a k Rate of 18.1%. Despite those numbers he still had a Career OPS+ of 111, well above league average.

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