Dye Keeps Rewarding the Braves for Faith

Rookie right fielder Jermaine Dye of the Atlanta Braves had an autographed baseball tattooed on his bulging right bicep before the season began.

“I got it in spring training,” he said. “It’s just a symbol of something I love to do.”

Dye’s autograph is going to be in demand one day.

Dye, called up after David Justice suffered a season-ending shoulder injury May 15, has done a good job replacing him.

And Justice himself helped ease Dye’s transition to the majors.

“Getting to meet him in spring training, I really liked him and I held him close to me,” Justice said. “I treat him like a little brother. He’s learning. I’m not going to let him make the mistakes I made early because I didn’t have anybody helping me.”

Dye, who homered in his first major league swing off Cincinnati’s Marcus Moore on May 17, drilled the game-winning homer off Dodger starter Ismael Valdes with one out in the seventh inning as the Braves beat the Dodgers, 3-2.

“I could feel my heart pounding in my head when I was running the bases,” Dye said. “The same thing happened in my first at-bat when I was running the bases. It’s very unbelievable. It’s a dream. I’m sure every little kid, that’s their dream, too, to come up and win a playoff game in a big situation. Right now, it’s a feeling that I can’t describe. Hopefully, there will be more of these feelings later on down the road.”

Dye bumped chests with third baseman Chipper Jones after returning to the dugout following his home run.

“He did a lot of growing up tonight,” Jones said. “He became a veteran tonight and not a rookie anymore. He doesn’t know anything and maybe that’s good. He’s still very willing to learn, and that’s the way it should be.”

Although Dodger left fielder Todd Hollandsworth, who batted .291 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs in 149 games, is likely to win the rookie of the year award, Brave Manager Bobby Cox feels that Dye, who batted .281 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs in 98 games, deserves consideration.

“Dye has done just a wonderful job in right field,” Cox said. “He’s a true right fielder and has hit around .300 since being called up. If there’s some votes left over for rookie of the year, he should get them.”

Although the Braves have had only one rookie of the year in the last 16 years, they were able to acquire key players like Fred McGriff and Marquis Grissom with help from the farm system. All eight of the Braves’ position players who started Thursday came through the farm system or were acquired with help from minor-league players.

“It’s tough to replace David Justice, but Jermaine has done a good job getting some big hits for us,” McGriff said.

Although Dye was productive during the regular season, he was nervous when the defending World Series champions opened the playoffs against the Dodgers, going hitless in his first six at-bats with three strikeouts.

With the Braves’ trailing, 2-1, McGriff led off the seventh with a home run to tie it, 2-2. One out later Dye drilled Valdes’ first pitch into the left-field bleachers.

Dye has impressed Justice, the Braves’ all-time leading left-handed home-run hitter.

“He’s done pretty good for a rookie,” Justice said. “We don’t allow rookies on our ballclub to be anything other than calm; he understands that, and he fits in really well with us.”

But Justice has no doubt that Dye will return to the bench when he comes back.

“If you’re trying to imply that 12 home runs and 40-something RBIs is replacing me, I don’t think so; I’ll give you my baseball card if you want me to,” Justice said. “He’s doing all right, but Jermaine could never play like me in right field, not right now. If I’m here, I’m starting in right field next year.”