The 2000 Yankees needed a spark. As the month of June came to a close, they had a 103 wRC+, and their 377 runs ranked just 19th in the lead. Recognizing that they needed more production out of the left field and designated hitter spots, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman sent Ricky Ledée and two players to be named later—ultimately Jake Westbrook and Zach Day—to Cleveland for veteran outfielder David Justice.

A three-time All-Star and former NL Rookie of the Year, Justice had helped deliver Atlanta its first World Series title in 1995 before a midseason injury kept him from helping the repeat effort in ‘96, when the Braves helped kickstart the Yankees’ dynasty. Justice continued to be productive after a trade to Cleveland and in 2000, he was in the middle of yet another strong campaign, with a .265/.361/.582 slash line that was good for a 133 OPS+.

Although Justice’s arrival in the Bronx would be a major turning point in the Yankees’ season, his Yankee debut was ruined by Tropicana Field.

June 30: Yankees 4, Devil Rays 6 (box score)

Record: 38-36 (2nd place in AL East, 3.0 games back)

There’s the old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” In his recap of the game for the New York Times, Buster Olney wrote:

“There is a dullness to the Yankees these days. They always found a way to win in 1998 and 1999, and now they are giving away games, exuding the energy of flagmen on a highway construction site, hazily guiding opponents to victories.”

Remove the reference to the years, and it sounds like the 2025 Yankees this month. Much like the Yankees of the Aaron Boone era, the 2000 Yankees were in the midst of a June swoon, starting the month with a 28-21 record and limping to its bitter end at 38-36. And true to the month, the Yankees ended June with a whimper in 2000, handing a very winnable game to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

With the Yankees in need of a starting pitcher, spot starter/long reliever Jason Grimsley got the ball for the Yankees despite the fact that he was pitching with an ear infection that was so bad he could not see the ball when it was hit. Despite that, he didn’t blow up too badly on the mound, working around two singles to keep the Devil Rays scoreless in the first.

Handed a two run lead thanks to a small rally that included David Justice reaching on a Jacoby Ellsbury Special (catcher’s interference) in his first Yankees plate appearance, Grimsley began to struggle in the bottom of the second. José Guillén led off the inning with a single, advancing to second on a Mike Difelice groundout to third. After Russ Johnson worked a walk, Félix Martínez singled in Guillén. Randy Winn followed that up with a groundball to Tino Martinez at first base. Tino turned to second to try to turn the double play, opted not to throw it, then flipped it to Grimsley covering first. Winn, however, beat Grimsley to the bag. Thanks to Martinez’s indecisiveness, everybody was safe and the Devil Rays tied the game.

The ear infection finally got to Grimsley in the third, as he allowed four singles while recording just one out in the bottom of the third. After Johnson’s single drove in two runs and handed Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead, Joe Torre mercifully came out and took the ball from Grimsley, who (from my history of ear infections) probably went straight to the hotel and to bed.

Thankfully for the Yankees, Craig Dingman — a rookie making his MLB debut — restored order with 2.2 scoreless innings, and Mike Stanton followed that up with two scoreless frames of his own. While Bryan Rekar stifled the Yankees offense all day, when he finally was removed in favor of Jim Mecir, they finally broke through. Chuck Knoblauch led off the inning with a single; two batters later, Bernie Williams deposited a two-run shot over the center field wall to tie the game at four apiece.

Unfortunately, with Jeff Nelson on the mound, the Yankees handed the game away in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Fred McGriff hit a pop up to short left field for what ought to be an easy second out. However, Scott Brosius, Shane Spencer, and Derek Jeter all lost the ball in the catwalks, it found Astroturf, and McGriff wound up at second with a double that Baseball-Reference inexplicably calls a line drive.

Nelson proceeded to walk the bases loaded, then walk Johnson with nowhere to put him, giving Tampa Bay the lead. After he threw two balls to Félix Martínez, the Yankees hurried to bring in Todd Erdos (the rare mid-at bat pitching change), who completed the bases-loaded walk — the 11th free pass of the game issued by Yankees pitchers — to extend the Devil Rays’ lead to two runs. While he got Winn to ground out to the pitcher to end the frame, the damage was done.

Jorge Posada led off the top of the ninth with a double, but the next three batters went down in order as the Yankees dropped to just two games above .500 — and a full three games out of first in the AL East. Optimism was still high with Justice in tow, but change often isn’t instantaneous. Thankfully, they would work it out in due time.

Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.