Richard Justice
Biography
Richard Justice was raised near Dallas. As a young child, he saw how important the newspaper was to the spread of news, especially during difficult times such as the assassination of President Kennedy in Texas. Living so close to Dallas, Justice frequented Cowboys’ games where he found himself more interested in those reporting the games than those playing them.
Justice attended the University of Texas at Austin, where his journalism career began with his work at the student paper, The Daily Texan. As a student, he also had the opportunity to intern with the Dallas Times Herald. After graduation, Justice worked as a reporter covering general news. His dream job was to cover sports, but this opportunity gave him a wider background and appreciation for other aspects of journalism.
Justice worked in general news before he got his first sports reporting position at the Dallas Times Herald covering high school sports and the Mavericks in their inaugural season. Afterward, Justice covered teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bulls and Baltimore Orioles in their respective cities. His career reached another high when he was hired at the Washington Post where he covered the Orioles and the Redskins, among other teams.
After spending 15 years at the Post, Justice went back to Texas to work at the Houston Chronicle, where he later became a sports columnist. Justice then accepted a position at MLB.com where he still works as a columnist. Although writing for an online audience is different from what Justice is used to, it allows for more freedom with his work and a constant access to readers.
Interview
Interviewed by Kaitlyn Murphy (MS in Accountancy) and Alex Violagis (MS in Sport Management) on March 26, 2020
I was in Houston, Texas, preparing to go to Arizona when I got the word that spring training was suspended. By the time it actually happened, I wasn’t really surprised. It was clear how quickly the virus was moving and that it was a major public health issue for everybody involved. It’s disappointing but unfortunately, it was the reality of the world we live in right now. Soon after, I called my company’s travel agent and said, “I don’t think I’m going to Arizona”. I then realized all the work that we [MLB.com] would have to do in dealing with this.
The entire business model of Major League Baseball is based on playing games, so postponing the 2020 season would have a dramatic impact. We still have a website [MLB.com] that is up and running so the next questions you have to ask yourself is, what content can we provide? And what is considered appropriate? We have this virus that has led to the entire world being under siege. Is it appropriate to write about baseball in order to give people an outlet? I thought to myself: is it appropriate to write about the five best relievers in the American League or the Atlanta Braves bullpen at a time when the whole world is focused someplace else? That's the balance we try to deal with. For instance, today would’ve been opening day, so we are replaying a memorable game for all 30 teams. I just watched the Pirates win a postseason game at home. Earlier this morning, I watched Aaron Boone hit a home run against the Red Sox. Our hope is that it gives people an outlet and engages them with the sport again.
In a weird way I’ve been doing what I always do, in that I’m just trying to find content to provide, but now I’ve stretched it a little more. I wrote an essay about the first time I was ever in a major league clubhouse. Currently, I’m writing a piece on the greatest upset of opening day history, which was the 1989 Orioles beating Roger Clemens and the Red Sox, and I’m also writing a piece on five people “outside the box” I think ought to be in the Hall of Fame.
The commissioner said yesterday, I don’t think we are going to have a 162-game season. So, I think baseball is going to look at creative ways to finish the season. Does that mean more double headers or bigger rosters? And how quickly is it going to take to ramp up? We could play a hundred different scenarios. Scott Boras, the agent, has a plan to play all 162 games and it involves a Christmas day World Series at a neutral site. Perhaps at ballparks that are either in warm weather climates or have roofs like Milwaukee. More importantly, ballparks where you can play postseason games. That being said, it would take something away from the sport by not having home fans. I think it's going to come down to when is it safe to play and how quickly does it take players to get back to being physically ready to play.
I think everybody is going to be affected one way or another and I think that just like all of us, we are trying to get our minds around what is happening right now. I think every player will be impacted in some way or another. One concern is how players are going to have a hard time staying ready to play because the facilities and gyms are shut down. It’s going to be a process of trying to work through until everyone feels safe. The play will definitely be impacted and players could get hurt from a quick ramp up.
Every team in the MLB central office has committed to keeping the workforce intact through the end of April. So, if you don’t have any games, you aren't going to have any revenue. So, can teams withstand that? We are going to see stresses on finances unlike we have seen in a very long time and that’s why you would like to play as many games as you can. Then again, the calendar is going to be a byproduct of the virus and currently, we don’t have a handle on that right now.
I would hope that we are playing by July 1, and one scenario that has been mentioned is starting the season with the All-Star game as a celebration of the sport. What I saw after 9/11 is that people craved the sport. People craved doing something that felt normal again and I think the New Yorkers would tell you that the Yankees played a role in helping the city heal. In 2017, Houston was savaged by a hurricane, and I can tell you for a fact that the Astros didn’t make the city any drier or make homes any safer, but the city embraced the team and the team embraced the city. It was one of those times that you could spend a couple of hours each day thinking about something other than your own problem. I believe there is going to be a hunger to play games and to do things that we’re accustomed to doing in good times. The commissioner said it himself in a letter that’s all-over social media, stating how baseball has been a big part of people’s lives and how we are going to start back up again once this country returns to normalcy. Baseball is going to be one of those things that we all feel is important, and it's going to play a role somewhere.
I think in a lot of ways, this is professional sports' finest hour. Tons of baseball players and teams are getting involved in their communities. I think George Springer of the Astros committed $100,000 to pay stadium workers and relief workers. This is the time you show that you are a good citizen of the community. Everybody talks about it and it’s in every team's mission statement. There are people now that need help. My youngest daughter is an elementary school teacher and it's not reading, writing, and arithmetic that she worries about, but food programs, Meals On Wheels, and nutrition programs. These professional teams are helping out in all those areas and can continue to help out. It's part of living in this country.