David Justice Opens Up On Playing With Deion Sanders, Jeter, Steroids Era & The Impact of Moneyball

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This episode is presented to you by DraftKings. The Crown
is yours. Welcome back to a special dugout edition of
All the Smoke we'r out here in Atlanta, Georgia. MLB
All Star twenty twenty five and we got someone special.
Man fourteen year pro Rookie of the Year, three time
All Star, two time World Series Champ, two Timesilver Slugger,
Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame, Congratulations, comeback Player of the Year, Congratulations.

(00:25):
Nineteen ninety ALCSNVP Man a legend in the space. Welcome
to the show, David Justice, my man. Man. Appreciate you, man,
Thank you for coming by. The nineties set the tone
for the nineties in Atlanta because it was a different time.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Okay, so you almost got to go back five years.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Okay, come on right, take us all the way back.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
I'm drafted in nineteen eighty five the Atlanta Braves in
the fourth round. And at this time, the Atlanta Braves
was the Walking Matt National League. I was talking to
Eric Davis, you know Eric, the Red Eric Davis. He said,
they used to come through Atlanta. They know they getting
foul hits every night.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
They gonna ain't going out.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
They're gonna beat us on and off the field, right
which so that's how the league looked at the Braves, like,
when you want to get your numbers up, let's go
to Atlanta. So I'm drafting an eighty five and at
this time I'm in rookie ball. You know, I lead
the league at home runs. And so the next year
coming in eighty six, and now I start seeing over

(01:33):
there with Ron Ghant, there's Mark Limke, Jeff Blauser, oh man,
they go Tom Gladden over there. Then we get camp
Mrker and here comes Steve Avery. And see what the
Braves did is we have this thing called the destructional League.
So after a minor league season, because minor league season
is only five months, so after a minor league season,

(01:54):
there's a thing called instructional league. And a lot of
times instruction league is for like some of your top
prospects or guys that are moving up. And what the
Braves did is they brought us all together down in
West Palm Beach, Florida. And now we got a chance
to hang with each other, around each other because you know,
you know, Matt, that's back in the day when ain't
nobody got no money, man, And you know our minor league.

(02:16):
Minor league is where you were to get real tight.
You know the hotel. You know, we stayed in the
hotels where you know when you open the door, you outside.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
We'll speak to it because I mean I did the
minor leagues in the and it was nasty. I mean
those are the historic like long bus rides. Yeah, but
we talked to us about this. We see, we see
the like in major league sometimes like we see it,
but what is it really like? Because I know that
minor league grind is a real ground.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
I tell you what it's like. So nineteen eighty five,
I'm drafted, all right, and I go to Pulaski, Virginia.
Never heard of Plaska Virginia. And it's only four brothers
on the team. All right, and we make I got
my contract. Now I was getting paid. Man, I make
seven hundred dollars a month. Well, you can't tell me
nothing in nineteen eighty five seven hundred dollars a month,
especially with my mama giving me twenty dollars a week

(03:01):
to go to college. You give me seven hundred, boy, looking,
I'll be good. But I'm getting all kind of McDonald's
King and all that. So we go to uh, we
go to Pulaski and you know, I see these three
other brothers. Ellis Roby out of Arkansas was my roomy,
and then we had to do James Nyland who was
from Virginia, and we had Terry. I can't member terry

(03:24):
last name. He was from Chicago, played at Semeon. So
we got to go find a place to live. Man.
We lived in a two bedroom trailer home. All right,
foe brothers two bedrooms, all right. No, we was not
doubling up because I know you're looking like we was
doubling in the bed up. So during the day delivering,

(03:46):
we had two couches in the living room. One of
them it was the couch by day, my bed at night.
So I slept on the couch for two months. Terry
slept on the other couch. James Nolan because he had
the car, he got divs on one of the rooms
and we just let Ellis had another room because Ellis
was a delicate flower and you know, we know sensitive

(04:08):
brother know, We're like, man, you gone ahead and take
that room. And so it was four brothers and James
Allen had a yellow pinto a yellow pinto. Four brothers
in a pento riding around Plaska, Virginia, you know what
I mean for the summer. So and you could tell
all our focus was definitely on the field because we

(04:29):
wasn't pulling nothing in the streets matter. Four brothers ruling
up on a group of girls. Man, let's just play baseball.
The something man shut it down, y'all, So uh yeah, man.
And then it was funny because we'd wake up in
the morning, went nothing to do. So Ellis used to
watch the soaps in college. So they throw on Young

(04:52):
and Restless. He throwing Young and Restless hooked.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
Man.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
It took about three days and everybody was hooked. So
we so we would watch Young and Restless, Go Grab,
Go Grab, like McDonald's something like that, and then go
straight to the yard. And went to the yard. Now
I'm coming from a small school, Thomas Moore College, where
we don't even have a home run fence, you know,
like like, oh, so you can play as deep as

(05:19):
you are, so like like so like you can hit
a bomb. You know, you got to run. I got
stopped at third a lot because they get the ball
back in. So I had a lot of triples when
I was in college. But it was a great experience though,
I'm gonna tell you right now, because we all got
a chance to really really build a relationship in the
minor leagues. I go to a ball. The next year,

(05:40):
James Nillen and Terry get released. They don't make a
day ball. So now it's just being Ellis, Ellis and
our roommates. We done moved up. I'm making eight hundred
dollars a month. Now, I got a raised and we
in Sumter, South Carolina. You know, now I find now
I got a car done, brought my Honda a cord.
Couldn't tell me nothing about my Honda a cord back
about four thous miles to a gallon. Let me tell

(06:03):
you some And Ellis had some little bitty rise, some
little bitty car, and uh, you know, we went over
to the to like they had like a Kroger's or
something down there. We went in the back, got some
of them crates, the little blue crates in the back,
wrapped about five of them. Took to our apartment. We
designed it, set it up, put a sheet on it.

(06:23):
That's where we put our TV on top. Then we
went and got two lawn chairs come longs and we
put it right in the living room. That was our
living room furniture, and every night we would come home,
like Ciskel and Ebert, we sit up at that back
way watching TV. It was the best experience the bus
rides you're talking about, Yeah, But like I remember, you
got all these guys from all over the over the country,

(06:46):
and everybody in many ways represent where they're from. So
it was always it was always a singing like, you know,
we got a couple of guys that could sing. Then
the rest of us background sings, you know, and it
was just a lot of fund man, And whenever we
go play in a city, I swear it was always
it was always a Denny's or waffle house across the street.

(07:08):
And before we would go to the yard, you know,
we would put out the call a fellow to going
across the way, who want to come? And then everybody.
But was the beauty of it, though, is it really
built a brotherhood in the minor leagues, so that by
the time we get that once you get the triple A,
you drop you can fly now, okay man. By the
time I got the Triple A, man, it's we won

(07:29):
a triple a Governor's Cup in nineteen eighty nine championship,
and that's me, Ronnie Gap, Mark Limke, a guy named
Tommy Green, Kim Merker, and then the Smolts and Glavin
We're already going to the big leagues. So by the
time we got to the big leagues and you get
into that clubhouse nineteen ninety, I was rookie the year

(07:51):
on our last place team. It was only last place
team I ever played on in my career. It was
about my first year in the big leagues and the
Braves just needed to weed out that old negative mentality.

Speaker 1 (08:03):
That for me, and I think that's a lot of
franchises that just been losing. Once you start getting the
right talent, you still need to change who's around because
they are accustomed to losing, losing ways exactly.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
And see our and we had two buses. So the
first bus is management, the trainers, the merry guys, you
know what I mean. And then the second bus is
just animal house, you know. So the second bus is
all out talk, you know, talking, jug laughing music. And see.

(08:35):
So my introduction to the big leagues nineteen nine was
I was seeing the veterans talk. A lot of junk
about the young players, like I mean, like man, we
in Houston. We had a picture Joe Babery. Joe baber
gave up a home run. He had a pitch called
a palm ball, which I had never heard of. And
we on the bus and Andre's Thomas, our shortstop. He goes, hey, baver,

(08:57):
we just we don't lost the game, right, so we
just kind of quiet. It was quiet a lot of
times after our games. We lost one hundred some games.
It was quiet a lot on our buses. But he says,
a bab what the hell is a poem ball? I
tell you what I'll do. I'll tell you what I'll
put put in your poem a plane ticket home. Because
she was a sorry mother, Damn, I'm a rookie. I'm

(09:19):
looking like what So then I got another rookie because
I don't and I don't want to. I don't want
to throw his name out there because they made him
teary eye one time. And he's my boy man and
he wants some world series with me, but they were hard.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
You see.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
At one time, we get one of our veterans sitting
in the very back. He was on a bus driver,
a busy man white driver so slow, buzzant talking jump.
I ain't never seen this before, and I bet you
ain't never seen this before in your sport. A bus
driver pulled over. He pulled over. I ain't taking this ship.
He pulled over, put that back point in park, got

(09:55):
up and gonna walk, gonna walk to the back to fight.
One of the old brother too, like he'd been in
the gym three old days a week driving the bus.
He got up. He was feeling out that you. He
got up like this. We were like, oh shit, But
they got our hitting coach, Clarence Jones was right there,
Clara Jones and kind of stopped staying my man. You know,
he've been drinking with the woo. And the guy was like,

(10:16):
all right, man, I'm just saying. He turned around and
got back it out as a rookie. This was crazy. Anyway,
we go into nineteen ninety one, bro, we go from
worse to first. I would say ninety nine percent of
that negativity was gone and now it was on us
young boys.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
Did they bring everybody up? Everyone? Did you guys all
come to the big league together?

Speaker 2 (10:34):
In nineteen eighty nine we won a Governor's Cup. They
brought eight of us off of that championship team.

Speaker 1 (10:39):
Is that rare? It sounds like I.

Speaker 2 (10:41):
Think it's rare. That's a lot.

Speaker 1 (10:42):
That's a lot.

Speaker 2 (10:43):
But you have a team of losing teams. So they like, listen, listen,
We're gonna play the young boys and give them some experience.
And it was crazy because in nineteen eighty nine the
Dodgers and the Astros were fighting for the National League.
Pennant and Tommy Lasorda because when we got called back up,
we got Houston and Tim of Losorda was like the

(11:05):
Braves had announced that they were going to play the
young guys. So Tim and Thesorda went off for the
media like, well, no, no, no, no, you got to play
the regular team. Don't play these young guys, assuming that
we gonna get whooped. Man. They threw Mike Scott against us,
one of the best players, won the best pictures of
National League. I shot him from my first major league
home run. Gant shot him. We won three NHS in

(11:25):
that first game. You couldn't tell us young boys. We
wasn't about the role because we were winning at every
level in the minors, not necessarily championships, but we were
getting it UNNR and so, and we had formed this
nucleus of young dudes that loved each other and it
was boys. We went the Governments Cup in Night in
nineteen eighty nine. Like I told you, I remember celebrating

(11:46):
on the field and I'm jumping up and down and
I tell our manager at the time, Jim Beacham, I said, Beach,
we could do this in the big leagues. Two years later,
we go into our first World Series yep, and Beach
was now nineteen ninety one. Beach was part of our
crew that at that time. I said, Beach, member, I
told you we was gonna come and bro we fourteen

(12:07):
straight nationally penance in a row. I wasn't there for
all of them, but we set the foundation, set the founding.

Speaker 1 (12:12):
What's that like, though, So you're changing the foundation and
the culture within the organization. How is that paying dividends
off the field? I mean, you're someone who's on the
cover of Ebony magazine, People magazine, like you're living the
good life, good baseball, and the eligible bachelor in a
town that was popping. Yeah, he said, yeah.

Speaker 2 (12:37):
So there wasn't a better team to come up with
in the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, Georgia, because you're talking
about that's when Jermaine dupri was young coming up. You know,
Hotel holy Field on Rick Rolfs's crib. Now, we used
to rip at Holyfield House looked like a Hotel bro
We ride past because they had an affluent black neighborhood

(13:01):
down that way where you know the Fellas lived, And
you know you're talking about Dallas saucing TLC. Then you
got the Falcons with Prime Time. It was with us
Andre rising like the city was popping. No Club Won
twelve and I mean like I'm running in into two
Short and Ice Cube and I mean like everybody just

(13:25):
everybody was kind of falling through Atlanta. And then because
we know in nineteen ninety one we did, I don't
think we. It might have been probably around July August
when it was almost like the country started taking notice
of this young team. And we had a lot of
brothers on that team, so it was it was literally
just NonStop comedy on a daily basis because we called

(13:48):
it cap They call cap now lyon back when I
grew up, cap and means joking with jump, So we
was always capping on each other man me Dion Otis Nixon.
Marvin Freeman was literally could have been Dave Chappelle. He
was Dave Chappelle in nineteen ninety ninety one. He was
my heighten man in nineteen ninety He would come in.

(14:10):
It was me and Delina on the Shields fighting for
Rookie the year, and he would always come in a day. Man,
hey boyd DeLine. We had four inks today, Man, you
better come home, right. He was my heighte man, Dad.
And then I'm out there trying to be in Delane
on the Shields. But we just had a real fun team.
And then all of a sudden, we just captured America. Matt.
I'm telling you. We went from three thousand fans to

(14:32):
fifty thousand, I mean. And then when they started them Tomahawks, Man, bruh.
I'm telling you.

Speaker 1 (14:39):
Right, man, what I remember watching some games on TVs.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
I'm telling you these people was committed.

Speaker 1 (14:45):
To us too.

Speaker 2 (14:45):
Yeah, I mean, they was committed for and then we
end up beating winning our division. On the last day
of the season. We had the Houston Astros in that
last three game series, and the Dodgers and the Giants
always play the last weekend series, and so it was

(15:06):
us in the Dodgers, and they hate each other. San
Francis still still so San Francisco. If they ain't gonna
make it, they're gonna do everything they can to keep Dodgers.

Speaker 1 (15:14):
You're making it.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
And they beat the Dodgers. We beat Houston, and man,
it was on our way to the playoffs, and it
was crazy in this city. Man, it was crazy. I'm
telling you that that first year just just how genuine
the love for our team was and a bunch of
these young guys. I think it was unmatched. I can't

(15:36):
think of another year where I felt that kind of love,
even the year we wanted the ninety five. Nothing matched
that in nineteen ninety one, so we lost the World
Series and had a parade like like we won. I'm
telling you, it was crazy. It was crazy.

Speaker 1 (15:50):
Who were What year did Dion come today?

Speaker 2 (15:52):
So Prime Prime was with us, man, I know he
was with us in ninety one. He was. Prime was
with us all the way till night twenty four. I
think ninety four he got traded to Cincinnati. So I'm
not sure Prown was with us in ninety my rookie year.
He could have been, but I definitely ninety one he
was with us own, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:12):
What was it like playing with him? Obviously him playing
two sports. So were you guys teammates when he tried
to play a football game in the day and then
come back and play and he hit well actually too
talk to us about that and what kind of shit
he was going through and was you know, did you
guys have any conversations during that time?

Speaker 2 (16:27):
The Atlanta Journal Constitution and I J. Rosenberg he had it.
I honestly he would later apologize to me when the
Braves inducted me into their Hall of Fame. We would
have our presence would have been even bigger if we
had a supportive b writer writing about our team. And

(16:50):
none of the guys liked him because if he could
find anything negative, it was always there. Dion is great,
great teammate, just a hard worker, wanted to be a
great baseball player. And we were very supportive Dion. He
was our boy man playing football and baseball. Like, who
does that right other than Bold when that time Bo

(17:11):
Jackson was doing it. But so when Dion had to
go play football, he wasn't nobody tripping. We was like
all right, because we got oldest Nickson sitting over here,
in center field. That arguably the best center fielder in
the game. So when Dion couldn't make it, we got
were not losing nothing. And then whenever, then all of
a sudden, Dion would show up right, all of a sudden,

(17:33):
you would appear right and they were like, oh, Prime,
you back, don't got all back? And then he would
come in, you know, and rejoin the team. And I mean,
Dion was just one of the fellas. Man. There was
no extra hype because within our clubhouse we always kept
that outside noise out there, and we were young dudes.

(17:54):
It wasn't like we were in there reading the paper
all every day and then walking around the clubhouse like, man,
look at he said about you. No, when nobody was
doing that. We put one hundred two games right, don't
stay out the paper. You have some teammates that stay
in the paper. They stressed it every day. Are mad
about what was said. I'm like, man, gut you hit
our paper, bro, Just focus on playing back in the day.
You think about it. You know, got papers? What sells negativity?

(18:17):
How can we find negativity? And then so you remember
that whole Tim maccarver situation. You see where you know
he was accusing Dionna being selfish and all this kind
of stuff. Not one of us, not one player, not
one coach ever thought that what dion was doing with selfish,
none of us. He had full support of us. So

(18:40):
when it came time for DeAnda to you know, to
give my man a celebratory no bath, you know, he
was just trying to give him a bath. I mean,
tell it, he was. He wanted him to be part
of the celebration, you know what I mean. And I
would have been necessory to the crime.

Speaker 1 (18:56):
Did video.

Speaker 2 (18:58):
I would have been in jail together. If it was
a crime, I would just try to help my boy
out of it. I was just putting water in a
win him. I didn't know he was gonna do that, Yanna.

Speaker 1 (19:05):
But you know what's crazy is is obviously we live
in a social media era now where you guys could
have easily took to your phone and cleared your name.
But this is an era where what was written in
the paper or said was the gospel. So a lot
of people outside of that clubhouse, not knowing the support
you guys have for deal, possibly thinking, damn he is,
maybe he is being selfish, maybe he's not pouring into

(19:25):
this team like he should be a Matt.

Speaker 2 (19:27):
Think about it, man, because I used to think about
that too. When you were young and you growing up
and you listen to the radio, or you watch the
so called experts on TV, you or you read it,
you tend to believe that they tell you the truth.
Like I never once went before I became a professional athlete,

(19:48):
I think that they be lying. Yeah, what who lies
out here? I know I'm coming from Cincinnati, Ohio. Maybe
a little bit sheltered from that standpoint, but that's literally, man.
I believe that most fans, if they hear it on
the radio, read it in the paper set on TV,
if they said it, it must be true. It's not
until you become a professional athlete, or before I until

(20:10):
I became a professional athlete, did I realize, Oh, they're
out here. You're slanting stuff, and they slanted for those
that they want to slant it negatively or positively, you
know what I mean. They hide, like I say, some
guys get to pass. They hide. They know they know
your dirt. But no, we're not gonna do that to him.

(20:33):
For whatever reason it may be. We're not gonna tell
his dirt though, But we can't wait to tell his dirt, okay,
and they looking to tell your dirt. And that still
goes on today.

Speaker 1 (20:45):
You see, no question still goes on to that young
black superstar in the early nineties in Atlanta. I mean,
what was what was that like? I mean again, it
was more than baseball out here. You guys captured the
country and did it in a winning fashion, and you
guys were all young, and there was an influx of

(21:06):
black players at that time. Obviously we've seen a huge
drop off and decrease. But what was it like just
in that time with that team? He said? The chemistry
obviously went to the You went four times total to
the World Series, right.

Speaker 2 (21:19):
With the Braves. We won in ninety five, win in
ninety sixteen.

Speaker 1 (21:23):
Four time. So it's just I mean, you guys are winning.
You guys are hanging pennance. You said, what thirteenth straight pennants,
fourteenth street, fourteenth straight? Now, tell me, like paint the
picture of what life is like these days.

Speaker 2 (21:35):
Here's what life was like for me when I came
off of rookid year and I come into spring training
the next year, for some reason, I felt this sense
of I need to be a leader I.

Speaker 1 (21:47):
Need to start and how old are you at this time?

Speaker 2 (21:49):
I'm twenty four, So I need to be a leader
because there's a lot of attention around me being rookie year,
and I'm starting to get a lot of focus. Matt.
Like I said, I'm on the covers. It's like they
got me on the e Spreme trade. I mean, I'm
everywhere and way more media in my locker. And I

(22:09):
used to always say, you know, I'm representing my family
named Justice myself personally, and then I'm representing us black people,
black folks. So and I'm in the city with a
lot of black folks. So I literally thought it was
very important that whenever I could get out into the community,
I did it. So I ended up coaching basketball nine

(22:32):
after one of my seasons, I stayed in town and
coached a youth basketball team thirteen fourteen year olds. Man,
time of my life.

Speaker 1 (22:38):
Brother.

Speaker 2 (22:38):
We played at our brown I think it's called Brown's
Mill gym over in Decatur and packed we were packing
that stuff. Listen, man, you ain't never seen so many
people at a youth basketball because David Justice was right
all mambas, there's a lot of those. Everybody was in
the gym. It was a great time. So I really
felt a sense of the importance of getting into the

(23:00):
community being seen. I thought that was very important, and
I enjoyed the love. I got a lot of love
here from our community, and I think a lot of
it was what was due to the fact of I
would speak out on the issues that a lot of
our guys would be nervous to speak out on it.

(23:22):
You know. I mean even my own mom would tell me, baby,
you know you can't fight that battle by yourself. But
I would say, momy. He just asked me a question,
I just answered it. For instance, I'm in my locker,
reporter comes to me and goes, hey, David, do you
think there's racism in baseball? This is nineteen ninety two.
I think it is. And I sit there for a second.

(23:43):
I said, well, baseball is a microcosm of society, so therefore,
if there's racism in society, then there probably could be
racism in baseball. I said. Back in them time, we
had beepers, right, I said, if you saw a young
white guy walking down the street with a beeper, you
might think here a young doctor, a lawyer. But if

(24:06):
you see a brother walking down the street. You might
hear a drug dealer. Man. They had trade Justice signs
tap in the stadium Trade Justice. I'm like, man, I'm
just answering the question. But tell me where I'm from.
Where you tell me where I'm wrong. Just tell me
where I'm wrong and we could talk about it. They
couldn't tell me where I was wrong. They just didn't
want me to say it. They just didn't want They

(24:26):
did that, but I didn't. I didn't show up at
the stadium that day talking about, Hey, man, come over,
let me just tell you about three system in baseball. No,
I was just in my locker talking. So, you know, Matt,
I had to learn. I had a teammate tell me
you don't always have to answer the question that they ask.

Speaker 1 (24:41):
You.

Speaker 2 (24:42):
See, I'm coming from Cincinnati, like I said, I'm from
the Midwest, and I'm used to you asking me a question.
I'm going to answer the question. I didn't know, so
I had to learn. And I and I didn't have
anyone that kind of brought me in and to show
me the way. So I'm just stepping on land mines

(25:04):
as I'm going, you know what I mean. Dale Murphy
was the icon and I ended up replacing Dale Murphy,
but he was the icon in Atlanta. But Dale Murphy
never had one conversation with me, and I want the
same team. The Braves brought me up to play first base.
Matt I played outfield my whole minor leagues. The day
before I get called up to the big leagues the Braves,

(25:26):
the Braves, my manager said, David here played first base.
I'm like, yeah, I'm left handed. I pished and played
first base. He said, but the Braids want you to
play first base tonight. I mean triple I'm like, all right, cool,
you know, I get it. I'm kind of excited to
go over there outfield glove. I ain't got a first
base mit. The next day, the Braves called me up
to play in the big leagues at first base because
we had Murphy in right field, you know, and so Murph,

(25:50):
I come. Murph never ever went out of his way
to give me any nuggets, no information. This guy man,
and I and the people loved him, and you know,
we actually loved him to us a big brother. But
he wasn't the kind of big brother that was taking
us aside, saying, hey, this is how you come to
the big league so as a result, I really had

(26:11):
nobody teaching me to wait. And Matt, Matt playing first
base in the big leagues. Man, you don't even know
how hard a routine groundball this, brother, I'm at first base,
I mean, were playing the Mets, and uh, Bobbie Cox
bringing infield in right, we in New York. Daryl Strawberry
is up. I don't know if you know straw straw
six six, you know Swoll the man at the time.

(26:35):
And man, I'm at first base and all I can
see is a line drive and I'm Bobby Cox. Tell movie,
I'm just I'm moving in. I'm just I'm just doing
this with my feet. I ain't, Man, have straw hit
that thing on my head just the first time I
ever said, yeah, I was so happy to hit it
to me, that thing all back then the seats. But yeah,

(26:57):
just coming to the big leagues, man, And and in
those early years, I didn't quite understand how to deal
with the media. And as a result, man, I took
a lot of heat my first couple of the years
because I was just I was way too honest, just
way too honest. I didn't understand the nuances of how
to really you know, talk to the media.

Speaker 1 (27:19):
I was just answering the question they ask you the question.

Speaker 2 (27:22):
Yeah, and then I got the trade Justice signs and
but you know, though, none of that affected me in
the clubhouse because again, our team was never thinking about
that stuff. Even the Brains organization. They never came to
me and said, hey, David, you don't keep telling them
down a little bit. No, they were just like, hey, man,
you know you one of us. Do what you do

(27:42):
and keep playing.

Speaker 1 (27:44):
Obviously learning and transitioning. But what was it like having
personal stuff public, such as relationships and stuff like that.
How hard was that back then? Because again, if there's
some bullshit out there, you just kind of have to
go with it because there's no real filter or excuse me,
op opportunity for you to speak your piece.

Speaker 2 (28:02):
So but I didn't really have any really real personal
stuff until you know, Holly and I got together, you see,
And of course that was a lot of focus because
back in them times, I can't think other than Joe
Demaja and Marilyn Monroe. I can't think of anybody before

(28:26):
that was us, you know, I can't think of no one.
And then how they coming up young and being hot
and just trying to make her career and then you
got me, and you know, it really wasn't a lot
of negative attention until I decided to leave her in

(28:46):
nineteen ninety six. You know, I remember how he saying
to me, you know, hey, she asked me to marry
her after knowing me for five months, and I mean,
I I said okay, but I because I couldn't say no.

Speaker 1 (29:01):
I mean, yeah, who's gonna say no at that time?

Speaker 2 (29:02):
You know? And I said okay, But I don't know
if my heart was really into it, but I just
I would. I didn't want to make her feel bad
and say no, you know, or like I was just
in the moment. It caught me off guard, but I
was like, cool, were getting along, we vibing, you get again.
We only five months in, you know, we're still in
the honeymoon state. And then all of a sudden that

(29:25):
followed up. I met Holly May of nineteen ninety two,
so you're talking about then we got married January first,
nineteen ninety three, right, But we spent a lot of
time apart because she was doing movies in this country,
that country, and we honestly we probably could have made

(29:49):
it if if I knew about therapy. If we knew
about therapy, we probably could have made it. Because we
never had any major issues like that. It's just that I,
because I was young and had only been in honestly
one real relationship before her, my knowledge and my understanding,

(30:15):
my wisdom around relationships just wasn't vast. So I'm looking
at my mom and I'm a Midwest guy, So in
my mind, I'm thinking a wife at that time should cook, clean,
you know. And then I'm thinking, okay, if we have kids,

(30:37):
you know, is this the woman I want to have
kids wouldn't build a family with. And at that time,
as a young guy, she don't cook, don't clean, don't
really seem like motherly, and then we start having issues. Listen,
we never had that. Well, I'll say this, we never

(30:57):
had any issues about other women. The men. I mean,
like I was never tripping when I was tripping one
time when she.

Speaker 1 (31:07):
Oh no, I got one time tripping at one.

Speaker 2 (31:09):
Time because I didn't understand it. When we're out to
lunch in LA and I remember, for Sisterinnatti, man, I
ain't even in LA scene like that. And she see
an actor that she worked with one time and he
came in, Hey kissed him on lips? Oh what what
were we doing?

Speaker 1 (31:26):
Was he European or American? I'm sure the fuck is
going on here?

Speaker 2 (31:30):
Oh so I know this is gonna be a conversation.
So get home and I ask about that. Oh that's
what we're do in la Oh okay, okay. Then so
now her manager and I used to go to this
restaurant all the time. I had a young lady at
the front seat. This all the time. We went there
so much. She became so friendly. We we got the
hugging her every time we coming. Hey, how you doing
this regular hug? Take Halle and his wife to lunch.

(31:54):
One time, I said, Halle, this is such and such
as Hallie. Right, Halle looked at that girl, so I
find she was bet she gave it them. She gave
one of them, like barely touched the hand, right, just
played her crazy. I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed. I
was like, wait, hold on, I just hugged the girl.
You kiss this dude, and you mad at me because
I hugged the girl. So but remember we young, we young,

(32:17):
So you know, young, you get petty. You ain't saying
you petty when you're young. There's things you just do
the are petty when you're young. Anyway, the honeymoon stayed
was over right, and now it's just David and Holley.
And when it is just David and Holley, I just
realized this is not the person I want to spend
the rest of my life with. So February nineteen ninety six,

(32:38):
I told her I can't do this no more. We
don't have any kids. You said you wouldn't want any
money from me if we because really she didn't have
any money. I was the one who bought the house
in la I was the one who have my house
in Atlanta. I'm really footing everything. And I said, you know,
you said you don't want any money, so we don't

(33:00):
have any kids. We should just make a clean break.
And she was like no, no, So and then all
of a sudden, I find out I got all these women.
I find out I'm doing all this other stuff. And
so what she was doing is see I'm just an athlete.
I don't have managers. I don't have this system behind me.

(33:23):
You see, she got managers, she got.

Speaker 1 (33:25):
All this kind of stuff.

Speaker 2 (33:26):
The machine, she got the machine. So you got the machine.
Now coming against me, and I remember my mom saying
to me. She was like, listen, baby, all the me
didn't want to do is to see you too, you
young black black but black kids fighting with each other.
She said, you just take the high road and let

(33:48):
her say whatever she wanted to say. But I don't
want you out here talking bad about that girl. My
mama said this to me. I'm an only child raised
with just my mom my mom. Well, my mom said
it was gospel, So I said, OK, I'm not gonna
I won't sault her like that in public. I might
talk a lot of junks and boys, but I ain't
gonna say nothing in public. And I did mad for
I didn't. I just watched her say all this stuff

(34:10):
about me, and I was like, and so crazy. Is
the one thing that probably I would say hurt the
most is Hallie had a relationship with a gentleman who
hit on the side of the head and so she
lost some hearing. But she never made him public. And

(34:31):
I'm not gonna make him public because I ain't gonna
do him like that. I know who it is. But
for people to think, oh, it had to be David Justice,
because the only person they associated her with was me.
Now she said it was a former boyfriend. I'm not
a former boyfriend. I was her husband. That's different. But
literally from ninety six until even today, sometimes I'll see

(34:54):
some social media, well he hit her in the head,
and I'm like, oh, that's just a quick Google search.
Do a quick Google search that groa. He never said
I hit her in the head. But one thing I
didn't like is but she let you think that. She
let the world think it. She didn't come out and say,
oh no, no it wasn't David, but I'm not going
to say who it was, but it wasn't him. No,

(35:15):
she let the world think that it was me, and
that I never appreciated with her. I thought she was
dead wrong for that. I thought she should have handled
that better. And I always said like this, man, if
I was so bad, you would think she would keep
my name out of her mouth. She would be so
happy I left. Right, If I was so bad as

(35:37):
a husband, she'd be like, whoa, I'm so glad he
left me. Boy let me because it ain't like it
was hard for her to find the next dude. Right,
she kept my name in her mouth because she wanted
to be with me. She wanted, she wanted us to
work out, you know what I mean. And I know
now that I've gotten a lot older and I look back,
I mean, it's been a long time, a little back

(35:59):
in that situation. But when I probably got about probably
like in my thirties, and I was more mature, and
I look back on that situation and I'm like, no,
that girl really really did love me, you know. And
I can see why she would be so mad at me,
because imagine if you really love somebody and they tell

(36:19):
you they want to break up, and there ain't nothing
you can say to get them back. That's had to
be tough on her. I just wasn't emotionally mature at
that age to really truly understand the magnitude of how
she was really feeling. And I would have did things
different back then too. I wouldn't have just literally when

(36:41):
I said, when I left her, I didn't even talk
to her no more like that is so that like
I didn't even ease out, Hey, I want to be together,
no more gone gone. You see, I mean I could have.
I could have massaged that better, Matt. I could have
so so back to the point of the focus in
the media. Probably the best thing that happened to me

(37:03):
is this was February ninety six when I left her.
I only played six weeks of the season that year.
I blew my shoulder out, So I saved myself a
whole year of fans just burying.

Speaker 1 (37:15):
Me because I was going to ask too. I mean, obviously,
people expect us to be superhuman, and when we go
through real shit off the field or off the court,
there's no excuse in our profession. So I was going
to ask, you did it effect you're playing at all?
But you didn't.

Speaker 2 (37:27):
Really really Actually, I started out great. I started the
season great. I wasn't hearing too much junk on the
road yet, but I'm sure it would have heated up,
you know, and I never the only time that listen.
It became the thing that people would say to me
on the road. They would always say, you know how

(37:49):
he left you, or they would say real nasty stuff
about what they've done with Halle since you know she
left me. You know, people are ignorant in the stands,
you know. But one of the best ones we were
playing the Yankees, I mean Cleveland. It's still to this day, man,
I give Yankee I love the Yankee fans. Y'all played
their great fans, and they are really good at getting

(38:10):
on the opposing team. I'm at the plate, Matt, and
the whole stadium is chanting hally beary booty. Organist was
on HALLI that's the first time I've been to plate. Like,
how you get everybody.

Speaker 1 (38:29):
Into the stadium to say it that sounds like Yankee fans?

Speaker 2 (38:32):
Huh hey, it was impressive. It was It was impressive,
you know what I mean? And Yankee fans. I know
y'all did that to me back then, but y'all know.

Speaker 1 (38:40):
I love you. What did you do? What did you
do that game?

Speaker 2 (38:43):
I got out there at bad, I know that much.
I didn't get a hit that bad. I remember.

Speaker 1 (38:49):
I love it. I love it. Man, take you back Cincinnati.
What role did the Big Red Machine play in your life?
I know you were a multi sport athlete, but I mean,
obviously you know Johnny Bench, Pete Rose Moran, Tony Perez.
How influential were they in this man?

Speaker 2 (39:06):
As a kid going to Cincinnati and I went to
Catholic school my whole life. They would bring the TV
into the classroom on opening day so we watch the rids.

Speaker 1 (39:16):
The culture.

Speaker 2 (39:16):
Eight oh, the culture. Everyone loves the Cincinnati Reds. On
bad day, they would give a real bat. We would
go to the stadium on bad day a red bat man.
About six of us would go to bad day. That's
six bats. Now we got for the whole summer us.
And then of course we spent all our money and
had to walk home from the stadium. Were talking about

(39:37):
ten eleven miles We walked home with our bats from
downtown Cincinnati. And listen, it was the easiest ten mile
walk ever, because you know, back in our day, life
had us in shape, you know, like but so I
got the opportunity to meet all of them. Johnny Bench
calls me mister Happy because every time I see him,

(39:59):
I feel like I I'm nine years old again, Like
I'm so excited. Pete Rose and I had the same birthday,
so every time it was Pete Rose birthday as mine.
So you know, I'm in school talking, Hey, y'all's my
birthday today?

Speaker 1 (40:12):
Me and Pete?

Speaker 2 (40:13):
Yeah, Me and p say birthday nineteen forty one, that's
when people was born. I remember that twenty Perez because
I played first base, so I worn number twenty four
because on our little league team, like our Segre basement
were number eight shortstop dating sept On than thirteen, Like
it was like that. And man, I'm in the big leagues.
Nineteen ninety three. The Marlins have just come into the

(40:35):
league and we go play the Marlins down there and
I'm standing in dunk house. I look up. I see
Tony Pereez behind the behind the heating cage, Matt. I
flew over there. Hey, Tony, I'm David Justice. I'm from Cinsinide, Ohio.
I used to wear your number. I was so excited
to meet him. May look, even when little kids come
to me now right when they you can sense how

(40:57):
much yea. I know he felt it because I could
see it in the smiles.

Speaker 1 (41:02):
Though.

Speaker 2 (41:03):
Joe Morgan got to know him. Ninety five World Series.
Me and Joe Morgan, we are sitting near the weight
room talking about my approach for the game that night. Yeah,
him telling me, Dave, don't always just take the fasketball
way in here and the left field wait them out sometimes, yes,
Joe Morgan. Man, Joe Morgan always we always had a

(41:23):
special relationship because I always show so much love to
the old timers. Man, Like they call it giving them
the flowers. Now, man, I stayed giving flowers to every
veteran or older guy when I was a kid that
I met from you know, UH and then like Pete
Rose Pete. I first met Pete, I told him we

(41:44):
had the same birthday. Pete always messed with me. And
then King Grivey Sr. Again he was with the Braves
when I when I was coming through the minor leagues
for a short period of time. Look, the Big Ram
Machine meant a lot to us, Brothers and UH and Cincinnati. Heck,
I was rooting for the Reds when I was in
the big leagues until I said my rookie year, I

(42:06):
was still rooting for the red Yes, Man, I wanted
the Rids win every time except when they played us.
But other than that, I'm checking on the Reds.

Speaker 1 (42:13):
I felt the same thing with the Lakers. That's funny,
you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (42:15):
So the Big Red Machine, Man, they had a big
impact on me because they played the game the right way.
They were good, tough, They had that energy in our
whole city. To this day, they're still in the game
of baseball. When you say Big Red Machine.

Speaker 1 (42:36):
You know exactly them dudes right there. Yeah, your opinion
on the PD phase of baseball.

Speaker 2 (42:44):
Okay, So I want to say that in nineteen eighty
eight was the first time I ever heard of someone
taking steroids. But I was in the minor leagues. I
remember we were like we were in like Huntsville, Alabama,
and were out and they were talking about the Oakland A's,
you know, and since Conseco came out, so I can

(43:06):
at least name drop Conseco, they would say Konseco, and
then I ain't gonna name drop the other dudes. And
but that's the first time I had ever heard of it, right,
And then I get to the big leads. None of
that was going on in Atlanta. We never had one
conversation about uh taking steroids. Look steroids to me and
all of us back then, when I thought steroids, I

(43:28):
thought loud alzato. I thought steroids will kill you, Steroids
would shrink your package. I don't know any brothers trying
to shrink their package, and so so steroids is one
thing we not gonna be doing. That was our limited
knowledge of it, like literally that limited. And then I'm

(43:49):
with the braids all in ninety six. Never ever, once
anybody had a conversation about it. But now we got
nineteen ninety three, we go play the Phillies, and Phillies
got some big dudes over there, and I had gotten
sick and Philly and I went to the doctor on
the road and the doctor said, IS said to me, A,

(44:14):
you know, there's guys on Philly's taking steroids. He said
it to me. I don't know why he said it
to me. And then he confirmed, he said one of
the guys nuts was shriveled up to yeah, and I didn't.
I didn't respond. In my mind, I'm thinking, yeah, that's
why I ain't that. But anyway, and then there's a

(44:34):
couple of players that All Star Game. You see, like
all the actne on their back. Some of the guys
that came in the league that we were the same
size as me. I came to the league. I was
six three, two three, and then you see the guys
that came up with me, and all of a sudden,
now he's six three, two thirty five. You know, we

(44:54):
don't have enough time and all.

Speaker 1 (44:55):
See in that kind of a season.

Speaker 2 (44:58):
Man, we don't have enough time to do that. But here,
but here's the way we looked at it. In those
in those early nineties, because we used to have football
players come out and take batting practice. The falcons would
come out and take batting practice. They can't hit the
bot the infield if they even made contact. They have
too many muscles right and do swol. So, so our

(45:18):
limited mindset of it was, man, you can take whatever
you want to take. It ain't gonna help you hit
them all. It's not gonna help you hit it. So
all you're doing is messing around with your life, the
longevity of your life. And but there was it was
never really a big topic ninety seven when I go
to Cleveland, Nope, never a topic. It wasn't until I

(45:39):
went to the Yankees in two thousand when Magnami who
was claiming to be doctor Magnamie. He was the first
guy that you know, I'm there a week and he
come in a DJ. What you're taking? And I thought
this dude was talking about some bitemines style.

Speaker 1 (46:00):
What you're taking.

Speaker 2 (46:01):
I'm like, what do you mean? He said, what do
you Because at that time my wrist was hurt and
I'd hurt my wrists and I was playing with a
sports hernia. I ended up having surgery a Hernia Surger
up the season two thousand and three won the World Series,
and he said, well, if you take this HGH, it'll
help you, he said, doctors prescribe it. It'll help you

(46:23):
with your injuries. And I asked him, is it steroids?
He goes, no, it's AHGH, your human growth hormone. So
I'm like, all right, cool, I ain't gonna put in
my locker, in puts in my locker. I go to
my locker. I look, it's needles. I don't know. My

(46:43):
mama had to hold my hand when I got shot.
To the doctor, you're gonna you want me to shoot
myself with that? Man gonna take nine. I can't do this, bro.
So I but or I'm telling you, if it was
if it was an a vitamin feel like that, man,
I'd have been at I'd have been taking something because
I thought it was okay. This is the New York Yankees.
This is the New York Yankees. You know, you figure

(47:06):
they hire nothing but the best. I mean, that was
my mentality. And here is doctor Magnumie telling me that
this is okay. So I'm like, all right then, But
if it had been a pill formed, I'd have been
taken it. I would have been, but the teams I
played on it just wasn't prevalent to the levels that

(47:30):
Cansiko Hoosey Jose said it was fifty percent of the
guys sixty that's what Jose said. I wasn't around them
dudes that it must you know. I wasn't around nobody
talking about it like that. So maybe it could have
been a lot of guys, but they wasn't. They weren't
on Front Street with it. They weren't saying nothing about it.

Speaker 1 (47:50):
Obviously you can't speak for others, But what was your
stance about Obviously you guys knowing it was happening, and
you probably knew some of the guys that were doing
and what was your stance with that as far as
it's okay, hey we know so and so it's doing it.

Speaker 2 (48:03):
The stance was, it ain't gonna help you be a
better hitter. Literally, it was literally just that simple, take
what you want. It ain't gonna make you help you
be a better hitter.

Speaker 1 (48:13):
So you don't see I mean, so, so is it
fair to say like you don't have any anything? Would you?
You wouldn't be someone that said, like, well, guys that
did that shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame like
that was that was that ever your game?

Speaker 2 (48:26):
So the reason that is a tough one because AH
and Star Wars is different. Now here's what I what
I think about HGH. The thing with AH is your.

Speaker 1 (48:41):
Recovery, yes, which is important in your.

Speaker 2 (48:43):
Sport, which is huge in my sport. So let's say
you play one hundred and sixty two games. Let's say
you can you play one hundred games at your a
game or where I'm saying you feel in good energy,
your energy level is great. Say you play one hundred games.
If HGH can allow you to play one hundred and
thirty games at your at your highest level, that's big,

(49:07):
that's big, and now it would be considered an advantage. Right,
But then you got we had Greenies were part of
our game too, Greenee.

Speaker 1 (49:20):
Explained with Greenee because I mean, I don't really I
heard of them. But is it energy? Is it? Is
it stem? Like? What is it? Greenie?

Speaker 2 (49:26):
So I took my first Greenie in my last year
in the big leagues. I was thirty six, playing on
the West Coast with Oakland, and we had those day
games and I just can't get loose until noon. But
we on the field at one o'clock game, I can't
get loose till noon, and we don't field at ten.

(49:47):
So I was like, you know, let me try this. So, yeah,
it's just supposed to give you some energy. But there
were teams that had, like I mean, like, the biggest
thing is a jar of greenies sitting right there. I
did an interview. I was talking to a reporter. We talking,

(50:08):
interview me, right, he walking with me. I walk over
to the coffee, take a green pop it open into
my black coffee, black coffee, drink it while we talking.
He didn't think none of it. Yeah, it was it
was just that normal. It was just that normal. Nobody
saw greenies as any.

Speaker 1 (50:26):
So they almost like a caffeine pill.

Speaker 2 (50:28):
Yeah, yeah, nobody saw anything more than that. So when
you talk about yeah, like I said, so I understand
the perspective of guys that took a jag and steroish
and I being in the babies, because I do believe
it absolutely gave guys an advantage that made them in

(50:52):
their recovery, that made them be able to play more
of their their best baseball on a daily basis. And
you got all these guys like my man Fred McGriff,
crime Dog, had to wait a hundred years, it seemed like,
to get in the Hall of Fame, who didn't do
any of that stuff. All he did was bang every year,
you see. So the guys who who were really good

(51:16):
players that didn't touch all that, that have been held
out of the game, those guys I feel worse four
you know, because shoot, had they done it, do you
know what I mean, ain't no telling what their numbers
would have been to So I don't really get caught
up in it, be honest with you, because there's already
guys in the Hall of Fame that we know used it.

(51:41):
I ain't gonna name drop them. But then there they know,
and see all of us baseball players know it too.

Speaker 1 (51:46):
I you know what you know?

Speaker 2 (51:48):
Just like you see what I mean?

Speaker 1 (51:50):
Uh, is there any truth that you hooped in college
and didn't play baseball? Oh yeah, yeah, talk to me
about that.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
So. So, as a kid going up in Cincinnati, and
at my time, we played three sports baseball, basketball, football,
basketball my number one sport man, then football, then baseball.
I'm good at all three. So and everybody plays baseball
as a kid in Cincinnati. So I played summer league
baseball my whole life, from age probably eight all the

(52:18):
way up. There were times in which I could have
literally stopped playing baseball, but didn't because coach called me
because you had to come pick me up because I'm
Risally just my mom and we don't have a car.
So if you want me to play for you, you got
to come get me, right, which coaches did, And so
I'm playing baseball. I go to college, so a lot

(52:39):
of people don't know. I was twelve my freshman year
in high school. Oh, I never went to twelve. I
was fifteen my senior in high school. I never drove
in high school. I got my license one month before
I went to college. So I graduated high school in
nineteen eighty two. I should have been nineteen eighty four.
I get my life since in July of eighty two.

(53:02):
I go to college August of eighty two, so and
I'm fifteen years old. I go to Coventon Latin High
School on scholarship. My school is ninety nine percent white.
This is we're doing for winning debates and speeches. If
you're an athlete, you don't go to Coventon Latin back
in those days, and we were ties every day. It's

(53:25):
all boys. One of the best education you could possibly
get in our area. This is where all the rich
people send their kids, you know, the future doctors, lawyers,
everything in the area. We had two black guys in
the whole school, me being one of the two. My
freshman year. It was me and then we had Bradley

(53:45):
Jackson who became a doctor. He was a junior still today,
my man. But so I go to Covington Latin and
by Matt, I don't even play high school baseball. I'm
just a basketball player in high school. By the time
I graduated, I graduated is the all time even score
in our school history. I think my record still for
like thirty years.

Speaker 1 (54:04):
Twenty six points a game, six and a half, okay,
excuse me, point five point five yeah, and I.

Speaker 2 (54:10):
A six point two assists.

Speaker 1 (54:12):
I think the game too, so that all around.

Speaker 2 (54:16):
But but listen, I never saw a shot I didn't like. So,
I mean, we were and you know, we would going
to these these these schools and they would call us
Justice and Company. Like Matt Man I was. I felt
big time in high school. I walk in the gym
and they be whispering, they go, they go right, come in.
Everybody know I'm averaging twenty six and a half, so

(54:38):
you know I'm gonna be the ones ony man. But
I was unstoppable, and I'm before to three if we
had the three when I played, I'm averaging forty Because
you don't even know how many jump shots I shot
from on top of the key.

Speaker 1 (54:50):
Who could compare your game to anyone in the history
of the NBA. Don't give me no bullshit, no, be
for real, all right.

Speaker 2 (55:01):
I used to go to the hole so like, because
you know, I grew up in the hoods, so you know,
we you know, especially game point, you know, because if
you lose you off.

Speaker 1 (55:09):
The court, you might have to wait.

Speaker 2 (55:11):
So yeah, So I used to go to the rack
a lot, like I would go to the line some nights,
Like my highest game, I had forty four points, I
went to the I went to the free throw line
sixteen times that night. One night, I went to the
three throw line twenty five times. So my game, let
me think, I'm I'm left handed, So I go to
the hole. If you hit me, I had great hang time, Matt,

(55:33):
like you could hit me, and then I'm gonna finish
because I'm used to doing that growing up. So my
game was like, I'm thinking of a lefty. I can't.
I would say I'm broke down d rows. I'm broke
down d rows. Not as fast, but I'm elusive, not
as great as hang time, but I had hanged up

(55:56):
there you see to me, and I could jump, but
I can't jump as high. But I'm a left handed
in the rim version of him around the hole.

Speaker 1 (56:06):
I like that.

Speaker 2 (56:07):
So anyway, the only school would give me a full
ride was Thomas Moore College. So I'm like, the only
way I'm going to college is on scholarship. So Thomas
Moore comes in and says, we'll give you a full ride.
I'm on my way to Thomas Moore at Crestview Hills
for basketball basketball only. I go to Thomas Moore. I
read shirt my first year because I'm only sixteen years old, right.

(56:29):
I come out my second year and first day at
conditioning school just started. So first day of conditioning, I
think one of our seniors was like, hey, we're going
to start doing this running. You know, get in shape. Man.
We run. They like, point to a mountain, man. I
come in last place, holding my side it's hot and humid,

(56:52):
and I look over the hill and the baseball team
was practicing, and I was like, well, you know, I
played baseball, and you know there's a kid growing up.
If I played baseball, I can get out of this
running for basketball.

Speaker 1 (57:05):
That's how it happened.

Speaker 2 (57:05):
I gloved the spikes, came back the next day, and
went out for the baseball team. I was seventeen. I
made a baseball team. So now they're doing that unnecessary running.
I'm over here playing. So now I got to play
spring baseball. Don't so I played fall baseball and then
segue right into basketball. But now I don't miss on games.

(57:26):
We go right. But now we're in a gym practicing,
so I can run all day in the gym, but
don't ask me to.

Speaker 1 (57:31):
Run across country.

Speaker 2 (57:33):
So now I play basketball, and then I got to
play spring baseball. And I'm doing well in college. But
I'm in a small school. Man. Our school is so small.
We only had like two guys on the team. I
think getting scholarships. Everybody else will walk ons. But for
some reason, we just happen to have a good team
when I was there. Come back the next year. Matt
now I'm eighteen. This is my third year. Now I'm

(57:55):
draft eligible. Come back my third year. I'm a redshirt sophomore.
Now I'm six three one ninety and I can throw.
I'm eighteen. Now I can throw, I can run. We
go play Xaver University Division one in Cincinnati. My first
at bat, I hit a bomb over the right field,
like the sports complex over there. They bring a left

(58:17):
in the face with basis low the first pitch he
thrown me, I shoot him up out of there. In
the stands of the Atlanta Braiders got help. Crownin sees me,
who the heck is this kid? Looks at the book.
Age don't match the years in school. They tell him,
oh no, that's David Justice Young right. Then he looks
at me, says he would later tell me. He said,

(58:39):
I ain't telling nobody about you, right, make him a
long story short. The Braves draft me. This is like
February March of nineteen eighty five. This is happening man
June of nineteen eighty five. The Braves draft me in
the fourth round of the thirty picks they took that year.
Only two of us made it to the big leagues.
Me and Tommy Green out of White Feld in North Carolina.

(59:02):
This whole time, I'm going to college to just trade
my basketball because I'm not even thinking of the NBA
because I don't think I'm that good. But I got
a scholarship. I'm gonna trade this basketball for a degree
majoring in criminal justice and psychology. I wanted to go
into the FBI and in forensics. I always liked that,
or or I want to be like Jody Foster from
the Silence of the Lamps, you know what I mean.

(59:23):
And they're talking to Hannibal lecture. That's how I saw myself.
And then I get drafted and I got to tell
you about the lab. What would be my last double
header of my college career. I'm in the dorms and
I'm about to go to go down to the field,
and I remember the tennis guys was at the end

(59:44):
of the hall. It was like DJ y'all about to play.
I'm like, yeah, we're playing right now, and they were like, hey,
we're coming, We're coming. So they started throwing all these
beers and the cooler the tennis guys, it's four of them.
So we walk over the hill to the field and
as I walk over the hill. I think we're playing
Kentucky Kentucky State that day, and I see a bunch
of cars up the street right. I'm like, Mann, Tucky's

(01:00:05):
tak They got a big following because we only get
like twelve people at our college games. I'm serious, eleven
parents and one girlfriend. Really, nobody came to our games
in college, especially at home. And so I see so
I get there. As I cross the street, some of
the fellas like DJ. I'm like what they like? Man,
look at all them scouts. Word had got out that

(01:00:25):
there was a kid at Thomas Moore College that they
needed to see. So I look up and I see
all these people staring at me. I'm like, man, So
my first at bat I strike out that it's a doubleheader.
I think it was my fourth strikeout of the season.
I proceeded to go six for my next eight with
four triples. You already nobody had four triples because we

(01:00:47):
didn't have a whole run fence.

Speaker 1 (01:00:49):
I've been home, mom.

Speaker 2 (01:00:50):
I'm trying to get all the way around inside the park,
stopping at third and the brave Scout. He was a
Hall of Fame scout. Paul Snyder even tells this story
he's sitting out on the hill. They're watching the game.

Speaker 1 (01:01:01):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (01:01:01):
And I had a great game. Still didn't think ID
to get drafted because I'm at this really small in
school and the Braves took me. And still to this day,
no player has ever been drafted out of Thomas More College.
Still to this day, the.

Speaker 1 (01:01:15):
Rest is history. Yeah, quickly, Glavin smolts In Maddocks their greatness.
What was it like knowing that you have pictures?

Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
Okay, first of all, Glavin Maddox, Smokes and Steve Avery Avery. See,
people don't give Steve Avery the love that he deserves.
But I told him every time about him, I'm gonna
bring him up. Steve Avery was a great, as great
as any any one of those guys. And you know
we were coming up with the Braves. That was just

(01:01:47):
Glass Smoke, See and and Ave and mad Dog. They pictures.
Pictures don't carry no weight in the locker room. They
pitched every fifth day. So they just them dudes that
everyday players are the leaders. Every day player. When we
get up to have a speech, they sitting over there.
They're not talking, but watching them dudes do their thing. Man,

(01:02:12):
I'm telling you, Smokes, if I had to win one game,
and I could pick any of them. I'm going with Smozy.
I'm going with Smozy, you know what I mean. Glass
and Maddix is a monster man. Madix is no joke.
But Maddix didn't win Game five. We could have won
Game five in Cleveland. Cleveland, we just Game five. Maddix
pished that game. We needed Glivin at home to win

(01:02:34):
it for us. They were They were fun to watch.
You didn't even realize you were watching greatness because that's
all in the moment. That's Glab, matt Ex, SMOs In a.
They gonna keep us close or they're gonna shut the
other team down. We need to get one, two, maybe
three runs. Usually we get three runs. It's a rap,
so it's a rap. The only one we really felt

(01:02:55):
like we might need to score runs with some of
users glaving. We always felt I don't know, and don't
ask me why. We just had that. It was a
consensus amongst us hitters like we got to score for Glavin,
but Maddock's most avery. We didn't. We didn't just get
one or two. I think we're gonna close this out.
But those guys, man, they were great. They were great teammates. Man,
They're all very different, you know, but they had such

(01:03:22):
a great camaraderie amongst themselves. I think they fed off
each other, and each one of them wanted to be
better hitters than the other. That was the one thing
they used to Boy, look here, they used to brag
about who was a better hitter. They took pride in
their hit There was times in which man, we might
have four hits. Gladman got two of them, Glamn got
two of them. So that was fun to watch as

(01:03:43):
a teammate, watch the dynamic of them always talking about
who was a better hitter. But they were great, great,
great pitchers, and I didn't appreciate their greatness really until
I left them. Until I went to a team that
we didn't have as great a pitching as what I've
been used to. That's when I really appreciated them.

Speaker 1 (01:04:03):
Clutch is a big word in sports, and you were
always known as someone who was clutch. You had a
storybook moment in Game six of the ninety five World
Series the day before you called at your fans, I
want you to take a look at this.

Speaker 3 (01:04:19):
Oh oh yeah yah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you want me
to look at it? First, or talk over it. Okay,
we're talking over that. First pitch was the ball outside.
That's why my face was like man's side. It's a
bumble right now.

Speaker 2 (01:04:30):
We never faced this guy. I don't face them because
we don't do interleague yet. But I'm on the fastball.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, he struck out
Fred McGriff on three curve balls in a row. All
three curveballs would have been balls. So I lead off
the bottom of the six and I'm telling myself, I'm
not swinging at no curveballs until two strikes. I'm gonna
give it to him because I don't think he throws
them for strikes. I'm gonna stay on the fastball until

(01:04:53):
two strikes. So the first pitch was away, second pitch away,
third pitch, which is one in one curveball. It's a
great curveball. Time to throw a curveball. But I said, nope,
if he throws a curveball for a strike, I'm gonna
give it to him. I'm gonna stay on the fastball.
He meant to throw fastball away. He threw it in

(01:05:14):
middle end and like Jimmy, we just say I quick
snatched him and as soon as I hit it, I
knew it was gone. So as I'm rounding the bases
right because people don't realize the amount of pressure that
I was under that day, because the day before or
Hersheizer had said, all the pressure is on the Atlanta Braves,

(01:05:35):
and there was a lot of pressure on We'd already
lost two World Series and they were already talking about
us being there the Buffalo bills and baseball such or
something you did not want attached to you, right, so so,
and I mean there was a lot of pressure.

Speaker 4 (01:05:50):
So when Herschelizer said that, I was like what And
I don't like pictures. So I'm like, man, you tell
or Herscheizer, I said after him, and if you won't song,
come get some.

Speaker 2 (01:06:02):
Then the another media guy, they know how to turn
up my buddies, that's the thing. They know.

Speaker 1 (01:06:07):
I can get emotional quick.

Speaker 2 (01:06:09):
So uh another guy said, well, well, Omar pis Kell
said the Braves can't win a World Series, They've already
lost two. Bruh. I'm like what they talking like that?
So then something in me was like and I fans
they need to they need to rally around us like

(01:06:32):
Cleveland fans because Cleveland fans are some of the best
fans I went to go play in Cleveland. I'll tell
you some of the best fans you'll ever find in
all the sports. They rode with us in Cleveland, and
they were riding for their team in ninety five. It
was like a European soccer match. Energy. They on, they
on their feet right and and so I felt that energy.

(01:06:54):
Our fans had been so used to us being in
the playoffs oil they were a little spoiled. Was like
a tennis match. They only gonna celebrate when when we
do something good. So all, and then I threw in
the comment about, hey, if we don't win, they're gonna
burn our houses down. You know, I'm just kidding, right,

(01:07:18):
I admitted to heart. Anyway, I woke up, y'all man
to the headlines Justice slams braids fans. Now I'm at
the yard. We come out before the game to get loose.
They boo me when I come out to the dugout when
they announced the lineup, booze again. I'm at home game

(01:07:40):
six and we got the pressure was unbelievable. But as
I walk up my first sat back and own that circle,
I'm like on one knee on a knee right, and
I'm like, God, you have put me in a lot
of tough positions and you have always brought me out
of one. Please bring me out of this one. That's

(01:08:03):
literally what I said now, batting number twenty three right
fielder David Justice. As I get up to walk to
the plate, I hear the booze, but I also hear
the cheer, some cheers, and I'm like, I'm gonna play
for them people right there. I just had this moment
with my boy Ryan Cameron, who's huge in town. B
one O three leg I think hot whatever he was

(01:08:26):
he was at back then, but he had a sign.
He was fully with his braves jersey that had. He
had a big old sign he made for me Justice,
You're our man, right. And as I'm walking to the plate, man,
I just put this smile on my face, kind of
like a like a calmness, and I went to go play.
First at bat, I walked, second at bat, I hit

(01:08:48):
a dull one to left centerfield gap, and then here
comes that third at bat. And I told you my
mindset was we always got a game plan. I'm gonna
stay on the fastball of two strikes. I got to
see his herdball for a strike first, because Freddy had
swung at three of them, they were in the dirt.
He might not be the type of dude that those
curveballs strikes that one one count. When I stepped out,

(01:09:11):
I said, this right here is the time he's gonna
throw me my curveball. It's gonna be right now. I'm
gonna give it to him. If it's a strike, I'll
give it to him because now I have a reference
point of what it looks like. And he went with
the fastball again, and I got him as soon as
I hit it. I knew I got him. As I'm
round the second right, I'm coming to a third and

(01:09:32):
I can see the fans and of course this pandemonium
in the stadium. And when I get the home plate,
you see I go yeah. And I will tell you
in my head if you had them little subtitle them
cartoons and get what you think of I was like, yeah,
all of y'all, that's literally how I felt. The ones

(01:09:55):
that were boring before, not the ones that was clapping.
That's how my energy was. And then I thought, okay,
we're about to blow him out now, because you know
what I mean, we done, got to run. We're gonna
loosen up. Man. It's the top of the ninth inning
and I'm sitting in the right field. The score is
one or nothing. I'm back to praying, God, don't do
it like this, God, don't come on, God. We got

(01:10:15):
to get this one. Kenny loft In leading off, fastest
dude in the American League. If he get on first base,
hes gonna be on third base, and a couple of pitches,
they gonna tie it up. That's all I'm thinking. When
Kenny often popped up to our shortstop and fouled territory,
I said, oh, we about to win this thing. Win it.
And then when Carlos Barrager hit that ball in the

(01:10:36):
left center field when he first hit it, I leaned
back because I thought I thought he got it real good.
And then I saw Marquis Grissom make the turn and
caught it. Man, let me tell you something, finally, if
people that have won World Series or NBA Championships, whatever,
that feeling to be in the last team standing, because

(01:10:57):
you know what you go through from the beginning to
the end, the ups and downs of the season, the injuries,
the negativity around the team, all of that and to
be the last last team standing finally, and then to
bring in the first championship to Atlanta, Man, I'm telling you.
And then we was in one twelve right afterwards, cracking.

(01:11:18):
Swear to god, that's where we celebrated. We celebrated one twelve.
We didn't go to Buckhead. You could even walk in Buckhead.
We were all the brothers. Well, I used to have
a picture. I don't know what happened to it of
all of us. They took all of us sitting at
a big giant table at one twelve. That helps celebrating went.
We took the party of our party to one twelve
with the peoples.

Speaker 1 (01:11:39):
So ninety five champs. You get back there one more
time the following year and you guys lose to the Yankees.
You're traded, but you also get comeback player of the Year.
In ninety seven, you're actually playing with Kenny Lofton. Tell
us a little bit about Manny River is Jim Towman,
what was that year like?

Speaker 2 (01:11:55):
So so in nineteen ninety seven spring training, I'm coming
back because I only played six weeks in ninety six
I had hurt my shoulder and a week before the
regular season was to start. There was like a rumor
that David Justice or Fred McGriff will be traded. It's

(01:12:17):
going to get traded. And crime Dog is quiet, you know,
real quiet. So I said, I said, Doc, I'll go
ask shore Holds. So I went to Sholls. I said, hey,
you know, am I being traded? And he looked in
my face and he said, David, I bet my house
and my family that you won't be traded. I came
out in the clubhouse. I was like, hey, fellas, I'm here.

(01:12:40):
I'm kind of looking at it. Freddy, I like, I'm here,
right man. A week later I walk in and I
remember Ned Jos met me in the room. He said, hey, David,
Bobby want to see you. Bobby never wants to see me,
you know, because I don't miss curfew.

Speaker 1 (01:12:55):
I don't do nothing like that.

Speaker 2 (01:12:56):
I'm always on time. So my Bobby want to see me.
And when I walk in, I see Clarence Jones are
hitting coach, I see Bobby, I see Sholes, and then
Schorls goes, hey, David, remember a week ago when I
told you and I stopped him. I stopped him. I said,
where am I going? He said, going to Cleveland. But

(01:13:16):
you're not going alone, he said. I said, he said, Marquise,
Christmas going with you. And immediately I went from hot
feeling how I felt to Marquis because Marquis was from Atlanta,
born and raised here, sixteen brothers and sisters, something like that,
and all I thought was, oh, man, y'all, y'all send
him my boy Marquise too. But Marquise was my best friend,

(01:13:40):
owned the team, that was my man. So at least
I'm going.

Speaker 1 (01:13:43):
With the way. So traded for Kenny Lofton and.

Speaker 2 (01:13:48):
I was traded for Alan Embry. Marquis was traded for
Keny Lofton, two all star center fielders. So Marquis waits.
We get three days to report. I went the next day. Man,
I went into the locker room, and it was filtering
around that I have been traded. Guys are coming up
to me. They can't believe it, they can't believe it.
They hugging me, and I started almost getting teary eyed.

(01:14:08):
And so because I only wanted to ever play for
the Brakes, that was it. So I get out of
the locker room and I'm out. I go join go,
I go join Cleveland. The next day and I tell
this funny story. Oh, by the way, sure holds his
family and house. He's got a nice house and his
family now lives with me.

Speaker 1 (01:14:27):
Put it all on there, right.

Speaker 2 (01:14:28):
But I show up in to the game and I
think the first end we're up like five to nothing,
like find nothing first in and I'm like, oh, man,
we can hit man. Top of the second it's five
to five. The game took three hours. I called Marquise
after the game. I said, Marquees, we're gonna have to
get in shape in the American League because I'm used

(01:14:50):
to playing two hour games with our pitching staff. And
I go to Cleveland and I never realized how great
a city, how great a and base Cleveland had. Man,
I didn't realize it. So Markquisa and I go to Cleveland.
I had one of my best years. I finished third

(01:15:11):
in the league and hitting Matt first year in the
American League, I get voted into All Star Game by
their fans, by the American League fans, I got voted in.
I was Comeback Player of the Year. We go to
the World Series. We lose in seven though to the
Florida Marlins, and you know it was over. My time
in Atlanta was over and now now I'm an Indian

(01:15:32):
and it was some of the best time in my
life playing with Cleveland brother before I went to the Yankees.
People want you to get into that.

Speaker 1 (01:15:38):
What about man What was Manny Like?

Speaker 2 (01:15:40):
Oh yeah, okay, so I go to Cleveland. Man Manny
Mary still to this day is the baddest right handed
hitter I've ever played with. Oh my god, it can
be this easy. Man, his outs were hard. But one
thing I'd give many a lot of credit for. The
people don't understand is Manny was usually one of the
first guys at the stadium and he in the cage

(01:16:02):
working on his game. He's in there where he would
take one of the clubhouse guys, or he'd had a
pitching machine on breaking balls.

Speaker 1 (01:16:09):
Damn.

Speaker 2 (01:16:10):
And let me tell you something, Manny that. And Manny
was the one guy I say I played with who
had he was ego less. I've never seen a guy
literally no ego, Like like we're on plane one time
and Manny sitting across from me, and I mean, god,
I just love watching many hit. I go, Manny, were

(01:16:32):
you good in high school? He called me Daby, I said,
man you're good in high school because I had baby.
I was all right, so I'm thinking, oh, it's late
bloomber then right, Manny was player of the Year in
New York. Not only that, we got his baseball car.
Look at his high school numbers. Man he had Nintendo numbers.
Man like seventeen home runs and he had crazy numbers.

(01:16:53):
But when you asked he was, he good. You know,
most dudes when you as about basketball. He talked to
some junk, right, most dudes and you asking when they good,
They're like, oh what what? Man Mandy was like, I'm
just all right. But Manny, Man I seen Manny. We
had a game one time playing Toronto. Pat Heinkin was
one of Toronto's best pictures. He threw Manny a fastball

(01:17:14):
up here under his chin. I mean, Manny was deep
on his back. Helmet might have fell off right. The
next pitch, he flipped Manny a curveball. Many hit that
thing straight away center field, off the facing of the
press spots. I'm boom, it was coming back toward the infield.
That's already hit it. Because it's after of course, our
whole dug out erupted talking jump. But Manny did miraculous things. Oh,

(01:17:35):
we had a home run hitting contest for service, call
it for service. So like, if I win, you lose, Matt,
you know, I want my peanut butter and jelly soundwich
drink in my locker.

Speaker 1 (01:17:46):
Right.

Speaker 2 (01:17:47):
So my group was me, Jim, Tony, and Manny. So
I'm left handed, Jim Tomy's left handed, Manny's right handed.
So of course I go, I'm up. I'm hitting mine
in the right field. I always say I'm the king
of the first role. I hate line, I'll get five
hundred foot I'm the four hundred fourteen line. Drives Jim
Tomy only park and hold him a yellowstone. Jim tom

(01:18:07):
Tomy is hitting bombs Many Ramirez in a home run
hitting contest. Get suck and it's hitting it out of
right field with us. He's not pulling his horn. He's
going apple. And he looks at me and says, hey, baby,
I don't want to mess up my swing. Boy boy, listen.

(01:18:27):
Many Ramiria is damn man. I got so many many stories, man,
but I'll tell you what. He was a joy to
play with. Man. He is a teddy bear. Every teammate
loves Manny Ramirez. Every teammate one of the best teammates.
Definitely the best right handed hitter I've ever played with.
And I've played with some boys, but none of them

(01:18:48):
to me or are many.

Speaker 1 (01:18:50):
Ramirius thought to be one of the best trades of
Yankee history. In two thousand, he helped him win the
World Series. You hit a home run in the Do
or Die Game five in the DS versus the Age.
I didn't like it. I'm an ADS fan, ALCS MVP
versus the Marlins, go ahead, three run home running games
sit to clinch Game six. Again that clutchess comes up.

(01:19:11):
But what is it like? I mean, that's like the
Lakers for the NBA going to the Yankees. What was
that like when you heard you were having really.

Speaker 2 (01:19:19):
Stressful And so we're in Kansas City and again Charlie
Manuel was our manager. Hey, DJ, Charlie want to see
in the office, right, So I walk in office. This
is the middle, this is late June, and Charlie Emanuel.
We all love Charlie, such a great players manager. And

(01:19:39):
I remember walking in and I'm like, hey, Charlie, where
am I going? Just joking and he's got a pained
look on his face and he was like, man, And
they traded you to the Yankees. And I'm like then
I thought, but by this time it's just business. Now.
My heart was hurt when the Braves traded me, but

(01:20:00):
now I'm in a business. Business now I understand, so
I wasn't hurt like that. But then it's the Yankees,
and like this, this feeling came over me of they
gonna boo you, you better play good. There's a history
of players in their contracts when they say, like the trade,
Like there's teams you don't want to be traded to.

(01:20:22):
A whole lot of people put the Yankees. They don't
want that type of fire. They don't want they don't
want that. We're not there. So when I get traded,
I remember my wife, Rebecca. She I had to call
she we weren't even married yet. Man I called. I
called her to come to New York. I need you,
I need you to come home. She came. Man. She

(01:20:44):
she was that calming force that I needed at that time.
And we started on the road, which was great. I
started on the road and I started hitting almost immediately, Matt.
And then now we come home in the Yankee Stadium.
And the reason why I'm telling why I was so
stressful because the Yankee fans are incredible. I call them
the ultimate tenth man because they make you so uncomfortable

(01:21:09):
as an opposing player. Soon as you pull up to
the stadium and you step off that bus, go on
to Yankee Stadium, they are on you immediately, all right.
And so that's all my that's all I thought of
when I thought of Yankee fans. I didn't know yet
how great Yankee fans are, how knowledgeable they are, how

(01:21:31):
much they I knew they rode with the team, but
I didn't know it was like this. So I come
home and I remember I hit my first home run
I think as a Yankee off Chuck mckelroy line drive
of right field, and man, when the Yankees traded for me, Matt,
I had twenty one home runs already. I hit twenty
home runs as a Yankee that year. I think only

(01:21:52):
three guys in all of history of baseball I've ever
hit twenty plus home runs for two different teams in
the same year, me Mark Guire and I think Carlos
Beltron and I hit twenty. I just flat out raked.
And so I will say this, the Yankees are not
for the Yankees, Big Boy baseball. But man, I lived

(01:22:13):
in a Yankee neighborhood. I'll go get my coffee before
I go to stadium. Day. Let's go. Let's go. Now,
come on, now, let's go. So my Deli, my deli,
the guy the Deli. I go there. That's where the policeman,
the fireman being there. I go in there, chopping up
because I'm bawling. So you know, I'm been chopping up.
But down you hit a little dry spot. You still

(01:22:34):
got to go into sandwich, right, So now I'm going
in there. Right, Hey, dang man, stay off the curve
all the dirt. I'm like, no, I'm trying.

Speaker 1 (01:22:42):
Right.

Speaker 2 (01:22:43):
The Delhi was such a great dude, the guy the Deli.
We make it to the playoffs, Matt and I was
and in the process of just having conversations all the time,
he had never been to a Yankee playoff game. So
we'll get me to make it to the playoffs, right,
And I get tickets, right, and I go in there,
and I bless him. Man man almost cried on me bro,
which made ship. I'm like, man, so I give them,

(01:23:05):
I give them the tickets. Man. Look here. The next
day I get somebody ring the doorbell my door at
the house. I'll go look, it's the deadli man. I'm like,
he goes there, everybody know where you live? I thought
I was in the cut. I thought, didn't nobody know
where I live? Here? And everybody know where you live at? Right?
He brought my sandwich to the crib. Right the love

(01:23:27):
you get from Yankee fans. I played two years in
New York. Yankee fans act like I only played for
the Yankees. So we you know, we go play. We
play the A's in the first round. We get past them.
They were they were tough. We go play Seattle and
the Mariners. They had a good team, but they didn't
have dominant pitching. Their pitching was lovely to hit off

(01:23:49):
of his left lovely bro so. And then the home run,
the big home run I hit to put us into
the World Series. Man, we in Yankee Stadium. It's three
to the score. We got first and third. I come
up and again I'll take you through my mindset. Arthur
Rose comes in. Arthur Roose is a lefty throw game six,

(01:24:11):
got a little cutter right, and I used to always
joke with I used to hate facing Arthur, even though
I had good numbers. I hated facing him so like
sometimes I was seen walking out to the bullpen before
the game. I'm like, Arthur, Arthur. He looked over at me.
I'm like, and then don't answer the phone when they called. Man,
she's just telling you tie. Everybody looking at me because
we was never boys right in a picture. I don't
talk to pictures. But I was just joking with him anyway.

(01:24:34):
He come in at night, three two games. Man, I
could see it like it was yesterday, bro. And I
told myself once again, I'm staying on that fastball to
two strikes because we're all. You don't get to the
big leagues hit the split fingers, curve balls, change ups.
Get to the big leagues hit fastballs. So I'm like,
I'm gonna stay on this fast ball to two strikes. Matt.
He got me the three balls one strike, and now

(01:24:57):
everybody is on their feet. This is Jankie Stadium to
come to. Don't nobody scream like the Yankee fans.

Speaker 1 (01:25:02):
You got to come to me.

Speaker 2 (01:25:03):
I step out, Matt, and I stepped back in, and
I'm like, Okay, don't try to do too much, you know,
don't try to hit it five hundred just put a
good swing on it because I know he got to
come to Man, he threw a fastball right now. I
wish you had that video. He threw a fastball right
down the middle, Matt. And as soon as I hit it,
I can still see it right now. As soon as

(01:25:25):
I hit it, it ain't going foul. And I see it.
I can see it right now. And immediately I look
in the dugout because I know the fellas about to
jump up for it. I hit it and I look
and I see them heads coming. Because you can't see it,
I see them come out. I round on first base, doom.
I always do my little pump right and as I

(01:25:45):
hit second it feels like an earthquake in the stadium. Literally,
I feel like I'm running like this. It feels like
an earthquake. And you see beer everywhere. People hug and scream.
They going nuts. Man. I round third base, Man, I
hit home. Man, I'm telling you, there ain't. I don't
think there's a better feeling than that, that feeling right there,

(01:26:06):
to come through and with the at home, with the
excitement of our fans, them Yankee fans. Oh man, then
uh oh, and so look Matt as I'm sitting there
in the cut three to one, around all this pandemonium.

(01:26:27):
You know what was in my mind? I literally was
on a pond, okay, with the moonlight right there. I
can still see it now casting a shadow on the water.
And I'm in a boat, and I'm in one of
those ten boats, them old timble. I got a line

(01:26:47):
in the water. Okay, if you could have cut my
head open on that three to one pitch, that's where
I was. I was so relaxed and laser focused on
this one pitch. Why I had that in my mind,
I don't know, because I don't even fish. Oh shit,

(01:27:12):
I've been fishing one time with Primetime. It was the
most boring shit ever, and I never went fishing ever again.
Primetime had me out there, Hey man, you can keep
this ship. Man, I'm going to the golf course. Yeah. Yeah.
And then right and so now we go into the
World Series against the Mets. We had played the Mets
earlier as the Subway serious New York is on fire.

(01:27:35):
I thought we were gonna sweep them. I thought that
I've never been that with that comfortable my wife against
the team because they had nothing for us. I get
a big hit in Game one a two run double
to put us up. Our lighter who had got me
in the nineteen ninety seven World Series of Marlins. He
caught me. I sold out on a three to two

(01:27:57):
fastball and he threw me a three two cutter that
I literally could wanted to call time out halfway weight.
So I remember, I remember from the World Series in
ninety seven that that's what he likes to throw in
some situations on it. So I sat on it. He
had me like one one or two one he threw
and I shot even lefts in the field to run double.

(01:28:17):
And in game one of that Mets series, we're not
winning Game one, We won Game two, lost Game three,
won Game four, and five we won four four games,
four to five, and and here I am again winning
another World Series.

Speaker 1 (01:28:33):
With all due respect, you know, obviously winning one with
with Atlanta was very important. It was the first, but
winning one with the Yankees is something different. That's that's precious,
that's rare air up there.

Speaker 2 (01:28:44):
What was that like, I don't think you can win
on a bigger stage.

Speaker 1 (01:28:46):
I mean, I see the ring right here is still
lying to me.

Speaker 2 (01:28:48):
I don't I don't think you can win on a
bigger stage than in New York. I really don't seem
like the lights are brighter. You know, there's more emphasis,
more media's media everywhere man. And then being the Subway series,
like you're bringing the whole I mean, even though it
was within New York, I guarantee the whole country was

(01:29:08):
tuned in on this one. And the vibe and the
energy in New York was believable during this series, and
it was and then our parade there he listen, man,
there's no parade like the young parade.

Speaker 1 (01:29:25):
You were married at that time. We'll keep it peach. Yeah. Yeah,
a little Puerto Rican girls out there and the Dominicans.

Speaker 2 (01:29:31):
And South having flashbacks.

Speaker 1 (01:29:33):
Yeah, I'm just I can imagine I didn't I didn't
win shit. I can imagine that real quick. Give me
something on Jeter.

Speaker 2 (01:29:42):
Okay, So G to me is as solid of a
dude and a teammate I think you'll ever find when
they say, well raised man, His mom and daddy did
a great job with him. Jeep was young, man. I'm
like eight years older than je Shoot. I was thirty
four when G was like twenty six, So he wasn't
the captain yet. He was just one of the young fellas.

(01:30:05):
You know what I mean? That was that was on
the team. And what I love about Jeep Man is
Gee plays every day. He come to play every day.
You know, if I don't get a nut can unless
he's something's broken. He played and and his funniest lying
with me is uh. I was like, Geep, what he

(01:30:27):
got nothing? Everybody nothing? And know we always have nicknames
on every team. There's always nickname. With the Braids, I'm
big Red right with uh with with the Yankees, you know,
me and ge Even when I text him now, I
start that with sister girl. Hein't sister girl. I don't

(01:30:47):
know where we while we do that, and then he's yeat,
he's Jeep or yet you know what I mean. Soado
Pasada man, I had a great time hanging with. It
would always be me, Jeter Pisados and Tino Martinez and
I call him Constantino Constantino, But Jeter, to me, if

(01:31:10):
you want to build a baseball player who has the
ability to handle everything on and off the field, I
would you would build there. Jeter. I mean, that's my
little brother man forever. But the guy, he just he's

(01:31:30):
well raised man. He tough, hard nos. Look here, man,
if I got to win a game, I got one game. Man,
He's in my lineup, and Jeter's my leadof here for
show because I know, I know he and Clutch. I mean,
he's got this this slump proof inside. I don't know

(01:31:51):
what he be doing. The ball on his hands, Matt
j and throw it in the right field. He's just great.
I mean he's solid defensively, but he's got that dog
in he. Man, he's got that dog. He's got that
winning mentality. And you could see it when he was young.
He played like it. Man, played with a lot of energy,
and I was so glad to see how excuse me,

(01:32:13):
how his career turned out. Man. He became the captain
and then just what, just what he became and just
what he is now. Man, I love that dude.

Speaker 1 (01:32:22):
He won on and off the field.

Speaker 5 (01:32:23):
Yep, the show, Rush Show, Roger Clemens, Clem.

Speaker 2 (01:32:29):
I love Clem Man. I got taught. Man. Listen, when
Clem pitches, I feel like we're back at the University
of Texas. Clym is one of rob Rod dudes. Boy,
he come down there and got that lad of going.
He's sweating already. Let's go boys. And I'm a rob
rod dude too. Now I could still see Clem the
other end of Doug Gofic pitchers come out down there.
I'm on this end about to run out and I'm like, yeah,

(01:32:50):
let's go right, and we're hitting that field ready. And
we had a squad too. I had some of my
best games with Clemens pitching because the energy that he
brings to the game, to the team, you can't help
but raise your level because Clym is a dog man,
one of the goats. Marianna rivera man, Marioonno could have

(01:33:11):
been a position player. Man Marino is an athlete. That
dude was an athlete. We'd be nervous, man because he
in our field before the game running catching fly balls.
Man Morio, sit down, as down, but what you're doing.
But Mariano, hey, I've never seen a guy so good
that everybody in the league seeming they respected, because he

(01:33:35):
never showed nobody up. Mario on coming to ninth in
and carve you up. Game over, just shake the hand,
respect their shake hands, and let's take it on into
the dugout. I can't remember a time where he went
crazy except when we when we win the World Series,
then he'll show out. But other than that, all business.
But he he is one pitcher who I would say

(01:33:59):
carrie leadership cache in the clubhouse where Mario probably could
stand up in front of the team and we listened
to him because normally pictures they just pictures the position
players run the team.

Speaker 1 (01:34:13):
Interesting last season with the A's Moneyball was moneyball accurate?

Speaker 2 (01:34:18):
Not even close. Not one scene actually happened. Let me
tell you about Moneyball.

Speaker 1 (01:34:22):
Please do because I like this.

Speaker 2 (01:34:24):
I like their first day I walked into the clubhouse.
They was like, our leader has arrived. Here he is,
I'm coming in seven World Series teams in d A
lot of these dudes were young watching me when they
were coming up. So and me, I've been trying to

(01:34:44):
leave my team since my second year, Matt, so I
walked in, couldn't wait to be the leader of this team.
And they reminded me of the young Braves. And they
had Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, we had Miguel Tahada,
Eric Shaviz over whatever we had m b uh no, no, no,
Jason wasn't.

Speaker 1 (01:35:03):
There, wasn't there. It was gone.

Speaker 2 (01:35:04):
He gone, no, he gone. We got we got Jermaine Die,
young Jermaine Die. We got uh them enough dude was
the name right there.

Speaker 1 (01:35:15):
We had nice squad, these.

Speaker 2 (01:35:17):
Young boys and man, and I felt like I had
come like full circle. Like now I'm the main veteran
trying to leave these young guys and I'm and man, listen,
they know on the plane, last seat, that's my office,
come see me and they come back in the back. Man.
We would talk baseballs and life stuff like that. Man,

(01:35:37):
we go on the road, I'd be like, I come
on the plane, the first thing I would say is
women and children off the streets. These oak and A's
are coming to town. Because these young boys was coming
into your city.

Speaker 1 (01:35:49):
Boy.

Speaker 2 (01:35:50):
But no, the movie was nothing like what it really
was like like the movie when Brad Pitt had to
go into the to the batting cage to get my
care to come on board, and what they were trying
to do that ain't ever happen. Man. Man, First of all,
I would never say to a manager or a general manager, man,
y'all paying me seventy dollars? You know what I mean?

(01:36:12):
Are you crazy? I don't talk like that. My mama
would kill me if I said a mess like that somebody.
I wasn't raised like that. I was a leader first day.
None of those scenes actually happened. Look, if you saw
the movie, remember the really a huge crux of the
story was Billy being with his daughter. She's a musician.

(01:36:35):
I don't know if you all saw Moneyball right and
their relationship. And remember at the end, even at the end,
the movie ends with him being in his car listening
to her song. And then they kind of let you know,
he decided not to go to Boston. He gonna stay
in Oakland, kind of painting the picture and I'm gonna
stay with my daughter. I'm still over here. We went

(01:36:56):
to the premiere and I see Billy and I was
literally Billy hired me the next years as an assistant.
Billy and I were like this my last year in
the big leagues because he saw what I meant to
the team and he knew I'd be the right person
to talk to about gauging the team. And I met
the premiere and I'm like, Billy, how do you not

(01:37:17):
tell me your daughter can sing plan instrument like this?
He goes DJ, my daughter don't sing or plan instruments.

Speaker 1 (01:37:28):
I wad all that shit up. Huh.

Speaker 2 (01:37:31):
If you've seen money the movie though, too, that's crazy.
My daughter doesn't sing or plan instrument. So having said
all that, Moneyball was hollywooded up, my character was made
to be kind of like a standoffish type of guy.

Speaker 1 (01:37:52):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:37:53):
I mean, I had teammates that saw it. It was calling
hitting me up, DJ man, We salty man. How they
played you, bro salty because everybody, I'm telling you right now,
you talked to every dude I ever played with, every
team I ever played on. They gonna tell you, I
ride hard for my teammates and my team. I'm a
great teammate. I ain't nothing like the way they portrayed me.

Speaker 1 (01:38:15):
They missed unfortunate, unfortunate all right, quick hitters, finish up
your first team to come to mind, let us know
who are. Give me a major league player you couldn't stand,
but you have respect for.

Speaker 2 (01:38:24):
I couldn't stand you. I ain't got respect for you, Okay,
I can't. There was never a player that I couldn't stand.

Speaker 1 (01:38:31):
The smartest picture you ever faced that.

Speaker 2 (01:38:33):
I ever faced, I would say Pedro Martinez. Peter Martinez
was a monster man. Five nine, one hundred and sixty
five pounds on the mound like he's six six two
forty five bro he fastball, change up curve. It was
like he was in my brain. I think I can
remember one hit I told him. I told Pedro, man,

(01:38:55):
you should have included me in your Hall of Fame
speech because I helped you get there. You know what
I mean. He there's only one time I think I
got a hit off him where I second guessed myself
and he threw the pitch that I second guessed myself.
It's like he was always knew what you were looking for,
and all of his pitches were quality, A plus quality.

Speaker 1 (01:39:14):
Pedro Martinez for sure, best pitch you've seen in your
career by any pitcher who had just an incredible cutter,
slider fastball.

Speaker 5 (01:39:22):
Okay, so Mario Rivera's cutter is I just second.

Speaker 2 (01:39:29):
We all knew it's coming. You know what's coming, but
you can't do no with it. Just it's just all in.
It's all off on you, man. You just can't fool
with it. Mariano for sure. And Greg Maddix. Greg Maddis
had had a two scene fastball I've just never seen
he could throw it at the left hander like left
handed hitters like it's gonna hit you and I think,

(01:39:49):
just come back. I don't know how he did it. Man, Yep,
those two.

Speaker 1 (01:39:54):
Worst ballpark you ever played in?

Speaker 2 (01:39:56):
Montreal, Oh Nasty and Philly, the old Old Montra and Philly.

Speaker 1 (01:40:01):
Craziest clubhouse story you could share.

Speaker 2 (01:40:04):
Craziest clubhouse story I can share. I got one, but
I'm just trying to tell it. We had an incident
one time where one wife and one girlfriend got into

(01:40:24):
it and the one wife brought her girl to fight
the other girl and it went down in the family. Yes,
and one of the players was yes, served at him. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:40:44):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:40:44):
We got real thuggish, ruggish bone that day. Yeah that
that one right there.

Speaker 1 (01:40:49):
Can you give us the team? You don't give us
no names?

Speaker 2 (01:40:52):
Brave? We had that one. Yeah, yeah, that that That
would probably be one that was the craziest.

Speaker 1 (01:41:01):
Bench clear and brawl. Who were three players you want
on your side?

Speaker 2 (01:41:05):
It will be if we charge malt with Cleveland. I
want Kevin Mitchell, I want, I want Kevin Mitchell. I want.
I'm looking right at my man.

Speaker 1 (01:41:18):
Kevin Mitchell had to go to.

Speaker 2 (01:41:20):
Yeah from the crib. I want I want three mitches.
But if I only take one, Mitch. I'll take Mitch,
I'll take Mark Whitten, Mark Whitten. Uh and and I'll
take Shoot, I'll take then I'll take Prime sign Okay, yeah, yeah,
those were my three Prime time Mark Whitton and Kevin

(01:41:42):
Mitch Mitchell.

Speaker 1 (01:41:44):
The goat in your opinion.

Speaker 2 (01:41:45):
Well, in my era the best hitters, no doubt. Barry
Barry bonds for show. And if you say it wasn't him,
you just wasn't watching. So Barry Barry is the goat
uh as a as as a hitter the picture, the
goat as a pitcher hell Man. I might almost say

(01:42:11):
a three way tie Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddox, and I'll
even put Roger Clemens there too.

Speaker 1 (01:42:20):
You think Burry will ever get in the Hall of.

Speaker 5 (01:42:21):
Fame, Barry gonna have to be six ft under to
getting hold of thing, just like they did Pete Rose.

Speaker 2 (01:42:27):
They're gonna You're gonna have to be sit You're gonna
be him, and Clemens are gonna have to be underground
before they get in.

Speaker 1 (01:42:34):
How good was King GRIFFYTHR?

Speaker 2 (01:42:36):
Man, it's my homie, man. You know, we all from Cincinnati.
King RIVIRGINR was special. If he had not gotten hurt,
he would have been one of them. Seven hundred, maybe
eight hundred. I mean King Grivirginr. Rome center field man. Fast,
had a cannon for an arm, he can steal a bag, confidence,

(01:42:59):
the likeable ability about him. The game loved him, his teammates.
His teammates loved him. Kinger Virginia was a joy to
watch man. He was always fun to watch. And because
we homies. I'm three years older than him, were both
from Cincinnati. I'm at junior when he was sixteen, I
was nineteen. I just got drafted.

Speaker 1 (01:43:17):
Man.

Speaker 2 (01:43:18):
We all in the cages hitting. He was still in
high school. Kinger Virginia, Man, he's a special guy.

Speaker 1 (01:43:23):
Man.

Speaker 2 (01:43:23):
He was special to the game, still special to the game.
And I'm just glad I got a chance to see
his career. I hate that he got hurt when he
went to Cincinnati because a lot of people will, I think,
are really sleeping on how great King Jr. Actually was?

Speaker 1 (01:43:38):
No question, pure talent. Who's the best pure talent in
baseball in your opinion right now?

Speaker 2 (01:43:44):
Or Ronald Acunya, Ronald o'cuna man special? I tell you
who else is special. It's just I don't know. He
might have to get with another team is Elie de
la Cruz and Cincinnati. He just if he gets on
a team where he doesn't feel like he has to
carry everything, do everything, where he can just relax and

(01:44:05):
just place position. Right now, it looks like he presses
because he feels like if he don't do it, he
ain't gonna get done. That's that's a tough But Ellida
la Cruz, man, that guy's got a lot of talent.
He's he like a wild Bronco out in the wilderness.
You know, just wow, just but boy, he get it together.
Ronald o'cunya, Yeah, he's a bad man right there. Old

(01:44:28):
Tani got to be in there. I mean, the dude
can pitch and hit and he make major league pitch
and look like like he just facing some children. So
so honestly, I gotta give it the show. Hey yeah, yeah, no, no,
I take that answer back show. Hey, is the best pure.

Speaker 1 (01:44:47):
Of talent one major league guest you would like to
see on this show. It's a wide open we have
for y'all.

Speaker 2 (01:44:53):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm trying to think who would be
great on this show that would be funny and give
you some information. You know, guys, guys would be funny,
like guys like John Krook, Guys like I think Roger
would be good.

Speaker 5 (01:45:08):
He's a good storyteller. Jeter would be good. It's a captain.

Speaker 2 (01:45:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:45:14):
You ever get any run across Bo Jackson?

Speaker 2 (01:45:17):
Yeah, Bo would be good. Look, man, Bowl, it's only
been like I would say, like one two guys that
literally something happened with my eyesight where it blurred. Bo
Jackson one time ran from home to first where he
went It was just a pure I didn't something happened

(01:45:41):
right there in prime time. I saw Primetime doing time
in the outfield. He was running for a ball. All
of a sudden, it was like, wait a minute, how
do you get from there to there? You know? Bo Jackson? Man? Bowl?
What six'? One he was two Thirdy like look like
they spray painted his uniform, ony you know WHAT i,
mean fast as heck a. Cannon. Uh bowl was. Impressive.

(01:46:03):
Man another guy now that too is another guy who
the world does not give the amount of credit to his. Greatness.
Uh and if it were not for that injury in
football that we probably be talking. About bowl was the
greatest to have ever. Played, wow that good. Man That

(01:46:28):
god only makes a few of them every. Century i'm
telling you all around Like, Bo, god he ran up
the center with the wall and ran. DOWN i would
love to but we used to go out to the
wall and laugh and be like you think we can
rump this wall and we're Looking i'm looking AT i

(01:46:50):
don't even understand the physics of, it like you. GOT
i don't know how you.

Speaker 1 (01:46:54):
How you even do? That how do you even get to?

Speaker 2 (01:46:56):
That you got to go up and then and? Know
and then he came.

Speaker 1 (01:46:59):
Down and ran down that month for her. Too who doesn't.

Speaker 2 (01:47:03):
Who thinks to do? That? Matt who was thinking? That so? Yeah,
Man Bo, Jackson, MAN i got a he's so. Cool.
MAN i love Bow man WHEN i had my hip.
Replaced and who better to call them boat because bow
was like one of the first. ONES mano both sat
Like i'm sitting next to. You bo had me sitting
right there giving me the whole, plan the type of

(01:47:24):
SHOES i need to, buy like all kinds of. Stuff you.
KNOW i was over there TO ok was it? Called?
Man i'm taking all that, right all of the. Down
Riggy henderson, man rest in. Peace. Man Ricky henderson was
the one guy that we all thought would literally go
to one, hundred his face would look one, hundred his
body would still look twenty. Five Riggy henderson was was best,

(01:47:47):
shape a game. Changer Riggy henderson best lead off hitter
of all. Time, no AND i mean everybody feels that.
WAY i didn't get a chance to play With, ricky
BUT i got the chance to Know, ricky AND i
Love Ricky, henderson. Man and it just hurts me that

(01:48:08):
it hurts me like it hurts me That Kirby puckett
is no longer.

Speaker 1 (01:48:12):
Here.

Speaker 2 (01:48:13):
Man these were two guys that when they, around you
want to go say what's? Up you just want to
go be around. Her Kirby puckett was like, that, man
when you Played Minnesota, TWINS i gotta go see PUCK
i got to because it's just a smile and energy they. Carried,
MAN i still cannot believe That Ricky henderson is.

Speaker 1 (01:48:31):
Gone quick story we. GOT i went To Reggie jackson's
last he had a softball game at The Open callsee
and there was kind of the final game. There And
ricky was my favorite. Player And i've always been someone
LIKE i don't like to bother people BECAUSE i know
how you know to an, extent how it. Is when
we went into the locker, room he was the one
at the table with everybody sitting around him telling. STORIES
i just kind of stood and listened for a little,

(01:48:53):
bit got to talk to him when we were out
on the field a little. Bit but they kicked myself
because maybe a month later he had. Passed i'm just, like,
DAMN i should have just asked for just been the
fan and asked for a.

Speaker 2 (01:49:02):
Picture but it just shows, you, man and life is, short,
Bro like no matter how great an athlete you are
or you, were you, know at some point it's gonna be.
Over like were all going on to The Pearly. Gates,
man you ain't gonna outrun, it you. Know and we
all think we're gonna make it to. Eighty and then

(01:49:22):
when you See ricky get up out of here at sixty, Five,
Man i'll be sixty next. Year that's like five five
years from. Now imagine you only got five more. LEFT i,
mean that's a hell of a perspective to really marinate, on,
bro you. Know and you know when you get to
be this, Age, Matt i'm telling, you and you really,

(01:49:43):
realize you know that you you, know you got way
more days behind you than in front of, you you,
know and then you look at some of your buddies
that played before you there in their, seventies and you
start to see how they slow. Down they slowing. Down you're, like,
MAN i mean more real productive years do you really? Have?

(01:50:05):
Man that's that's humbling to.

Speaker 1 (01:50:06):
Me.

Speaker 2 (01:50:07):
Brother that's WHY i try to take it one day
at a time and enjoy, myself live life for them
twenty four, hours BECAUSE i truly believe it is not
promised man getting the. Eighties so that's HOW i lived my.
Life that's Why i'm real. Honest you know WHEN i,
talk you know What i'm, saying because there's only one
way to be designest.

Speaker 1 (01:50:26):
MAN Dj, man we appreciate your.

Speaker 2 (01:50:28):
Time and thanks for having.

Speaker 1 (01:50:29):
You Then i'm th looking forward to doing some more.
Stuff LIKE i, said all The smoke is coming into
the baseball space, man so we're definitely gonna look to
team up with your. Side cool, cool cool. Man that's a,
Wrap David. Justice you can catch. This, yeah we can
clap if you. Want, yeah oh stop, it stop. It
you can catch us in all The Smokes productions YouTube

(01:50:50):
in The Draft Kings. Network we'll see y'all next week
z

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