Jermaine Dye isn’t trying to be Magglio Ordonez or Carlos Lee.
He seems fine just being himself.
He’s quite content playing a card game with five new teammates at 8:30 a.m. in the White Sox’s clubhouse at Tucson Electric Park.
Getting along with people has never been a problem for Dye. Finding his true niche as a baseball player was tougher because of his two-way talent.
“He’s not as quiet as you think,” said Eric Byrnes, Oakland’s left fielder and an ex-teammate of Dye’s. “He fit in great with us. But he’s not nearly as quiet. The way he plays is in a quiet way, but once you get him going, that’s not his personality at all.”
Because of his undeniable potential when healthy, there are great expectations for Dye, who signed a two-year contract for less than he earned last year with Oakland.
Dye’s ascent as a hitter was hindered by leg, knee and shoulder injuries for each of the last three seasons with Oakland. His performance has made him an easy target for criticism because he hasn’t come close to duplicating the 33 home runs and 118 RBIs he produced for Kansas City as a 26-year-old in 2000.
“I think Jermaine can offset Magglio or Carlos,” slugger Frank Thomas said. “That’s going to be key. He’s a professional hitter.”
Dye is a big part of the Sox’s reconstruction program. They added him to supplement the production of Paul Konerko and Carl Everett (and Thomas after his return) while taking over for Ordonez in right field.
He also kept his word to sign with the Sox while undergoing a physical examination at the same time Arizona offered him a two-year deal worth more than the $10.15 million to which he agreed.
Dye, 31, with a wife and three young children, passed up a chance to play near his Phoenix home to play for the Sox.
“Just on paper, with the lineup that was put in front of me and the pitching staff, I thought I was a better fit over here in this organization,” Dye said. “There comes a point in time it’s not about money. It’s about winning games and having fun doing it.
“I just looked at this organization as one that wants to win and put a good product on the field.”
Dye has displayed a down-to-earth work ethic and wise judgment dating to his high school days in Vacaville, Calif.
He worked after each of his first three minor-league seasons for the city’s T.G.I.F. (Thank Goodness It’s Fun) after-school program with kids ages 6-12 until their parents picked them up after work.
Just as impressive was that he was drafted out of Wood High School in the 43rd round of 1992 draft by Texas–as a pitcher.
He kept pitching but also played the outfield at Consumnes River Junior College in Sacramento.
The way he handled a Contra Costa JC pitcher named Jason Green in 1993 was good enough for Atlanta scout Dave Wilder to encourage the Braves to select Dye in the 17th round–eight rounds after Green was taken.
“He’s a tall guy, but a baseball guy,” said Wilder, now the Sox’s director of player development. “Jermaine could throw in the low 90s, but we knew he could hit and he wanted to hit.”
It didn’t take long for the 6-foot-4-inch, 210-pound Dye to concentrate on one position once he signed with the Braves.
“I got pitching out of my system right away, with all the running and that kind of stuff,” he said. “I always wanted to hit.”
Dye appreciates the support inside the Sox organization that he has with Wilder.
“It means someone is not just going by stats on a piece of paper,” Dye said. “They know what kind of player you are and the personality you have, what kind of worker you are and how you go about your business.”
That kind of support for him was missing during the 2003 American League Division Series with Oakland. Dye, who had returned from knee and shoulder injuries during the regular season, was lifted for pinch-hitter Adam Melhuse by manager Ken Macha in the ninth inning of the fifth and deciding game with the tying and winning runs on base against Boston.
Melhuse struck out looking and the A’s failed to overtake the Red Sox. Oakland was eliminated from postseason contention on the second to last day of the 2004 season, giving Dye an added thirst to return to the playoffs in a significant role.
He likes that the Sox were in the midst of retooling their team after finishing second in the American League Central, compared with the massive overhaul project on which the Diamondbacks embarked after losing 111 games.
“Our team was pretty much set and Arizona still hadn’t acquired the guys they eventually acquired,” Dye said. “I felt being in our division, we had a better chance of winning. But other stuff goes into it. Playing in the West, travel isn’t good. A lot played into it, but it was all about winning.”
With speedster Scott Podsednik, Everett, Konerko and eventually Thomas hitting in front of him, the potential for Dye to produce Lee-like numbers (.303, 31 home runs, 99 RBIs) is realistic as long as he stays healthy.
“He has a chance to put up MVP-type numbers because he has in the past,” Byrnes said. “He just has been injured and it has inhibited him a little bit. Yet he still manages to hit at least 20 homers each year. Those are off years for him, so it says a lot about the caliber of player he is.”
The injuries in 2003 halted a streak of four straight 20-home run/80-RBI seasons. He rebounded in ’04 to hit 23 home runs and drive in 80 runs despite a left thumb sprain that sidelined him for 22 of the final 54 games. During the off-season he elected to work out more on his own rather than return to the Tempe, Ariz., training facility he visited the previous winter.
And he has kept his same frame instead of opting for a thicker build such as Lee’s.
“I’m my own player,” Dye said. “I don’t try to be someone else. Hopefully, it’s enough to help this team win.”
Looking to stay healthy
New White Sox right fielder Jermaine Dye has been bogged down by injuries since his 26-home run, 106-RBI season in 2001 with Kansas City and Oakland. The following is a list of his significant injuries:
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YEAR INJURY TIME MISSED
2002 Fractured left leg* 23 games
2003 Torn right knee cartilage 30 games
2003 Right shoulder separation 50 games
2004 Left thumb sprain 32 games
*–injury occurred in 2001 playoffs
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