Some great guys from a great team
Together, David Justice and Fred McGriff won the World Series title in 1995 as members of the Atlanta Braves.
Most recently, the two among the many celebrities to hit the golf course during the sixth annual Showcase golf exhibition at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.
JUSTICE WENT went on to play for Cleveland (1997 to 2000), New York Yankees (2000 and 2001) and Oakland (2002) during his career.
“My wife knew someone involved with this event (The Showcase),” Justice said. “But I didn’t know that it was going to be this beautiful. I’d never been to Idaho before, and this is absolutely a beautiful course and great event. If they’ll have me, I’ll be here every year.”
Justice also won a World Series title in 2000 with the Yankees. He was also named National League Rookie of the Year in 1990.
“Playing with Crime Dog (McGriff), (Greg) Maddux, (Tom) Glavine, (John) Smoltz), (Mark) Lemke, T.P. (Terry Pendleton), Deion (Sanders), Otis (Nixon) and (Ron) Grant, it was great times,” Justice said. “We had such a great, fun team. And we won a lot of games. Playing under Bobby Cox, one of the best managers I played under, it was a great organization with John Schuerholz, Stan Hastings and Terry McCarter that put it all together. It’s always better when you’re playing on a team that you know is going to be playing late into October. And I was able to do that a lot and was on seven World Series teams, so I played into October a lot.”
“I see these guys at different tournaments, but it’s great to see David and Jermaine Dye (who also competed in The Showcase),” McGriff said. “I enjoy it and it’s great catching up with them here and there.”
One of Justice’s favorite cities to play in was Seattle.
“I remember the Kingdome very well,” Justice said. “But the new Stadium (T-Mobile Park) is much nicer. It’s a great facility. Seattle has great fans and it’s a beautiful city as well. I always had a great time coming to Seattle. I always hit really well there, which helps as well. When you hit well in a stadium, you really seem to enjoy coming there for some reason.”
As far as the latest Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Edgar Martinez?
“I didn’t know Edgar personally, but knew him from playing against him,” Justice said. “He was one of the best hitters of my generation. And he made it look easy sometimes.”
His career path nearly him to Seattle.
“I had an opportunity to play for Seattle,” Justice said. “It was after my year in Oakland and they offered me a chance to play, but I was pretty much done. My youngest son had just been born, and I was ready to go home.”
MCGRIFF WAS paired with retired NFL quarterback Jim McMahon and current Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson.
“It was awesome today,” McGriff said. “Playing with Jim and Tyler, it was great. I’ve got a lot of love for Jim. He played barefoot today, and was outstanding.”
McGriff coached Jake Pfennigs — a Post Falls High product beginning his second year at Oregon State in the fall — during the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars in 2017 at Cary, N.C.
“He’s a piece of work, but he’s got a good arm,” McGriff said of Pfennigs. “If you have a good arm, then you’ve always got a chance to be special.”
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.