Johnny Damon
Johnny David Damon is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians. He also played for the Thailand national baseball team and was a member of the squad for the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifiers.
Early years
Damon was born in Fort Riley, a U.S. Army post in Kansas. His mother, Yome, is a Thai immigrant to the United States and his father, Jimmy, is an American of Croatian and Irish descent. They met while his father, a staff sergeant in the United States Army, was stationed in Thailand. Damon spent much of his infancy as an "Army brat," moving to several posts including Okinawa, Japan and West Germany before his father was discharged from the Army. The Damon family settled in the Orlando, Florida, area while Johnny was a pre-schooler.Damon was a quiet child, largely on account of a stutter. "My thoughts just raced ahead of my tongue," Damon said of his problem. "I'd sing songs as therapy, and I got better, but I still just kept quiet most of the time." He played in South Orange Little League as a child. He played for the Walker Jr. High baseball team before attending Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando where, during his senior year in 1992, he was rated the top high school prospect in the country by Baseball America, was named to USA Today's High School All-America team and was the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year. Damon also ran track at Dr. Phillips where his senior year he was runner up in the 200m dash. Damon also played football in high school, once getting hit by Warren Sapp and sustaining the first concussion in his life.
Playing career
Kansas City Royals (1995–2000)
Damon was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the first round of the 1992 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut on August 12, 1995, after playing the previous season with the minor league Wichita Wranglers. He played for the Royals from 1995 to 2000. He scored 104 runs in 1998 and 101 runs in 1999. One of his best seasons came in 2000 when he led the American League in runs with 136 and stolen bases with 46, and he was second in hits, at bats, and plate appearances.Oakland Athletics (2001)
Damon spent 2001 with the Oakland Athletics. In a three-way trade involving the A's, Royals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the A's received Damon along with pitcher Cory Lidle from the Devil Rays and second baseman Mark Ellis from the Royals. He was third in the league in at bats and seventh in runs.Boston Red Sox (2002–2005)
On December 21, 2001, Damon signed a four-year, $31 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.In 2002, he led the league in triples and was third in infield hits, becoming the first player selected by the fans in the inaugural American League All-Star Final Vote.
On June 27, 2003, Damon became only the second player in MLB history since 1900 to record three base hits in an inning, when he did so against the Florida Marlins. During Game 5 of the 2003 American League Division Series, Damon collided head-on with teammate Damian Jackson while both players were attempting to chase down a pop fly. Damon suffered a severe concussion and had to be removed from the field on a stretcher. Jackson was also concussed, but was able to walk off the field with assistance.
In 2004, Damon was second in the league in runs and began to re-establish himself among the premier lead-off hitters and center fielders in the game. In arguably his best season in the Major Leagues, Damon batted.304 with 20 home runs and 94 RBIs and showed improved patience at the plate. According to his autobiography, he was only the fourth leadoff batter in the history of Major League Baseball to drive in more than 90 runs in a season. Damon batted a torrid 7-for-15 during that year's Division Series against the Angels but struggled in the ALCS against the Yankees, going only 3-for-29 from the plate through the first six games. In Game 7, Damon hit two home runs, one of which was a grand slam, to lead the Red Sox to the pennant. In the World Series, he also hit a home run as the Red Sox won the series against the St. Louis Cardinals in a four-game sweep. This was the first Red Sox World Series championship since 1918, effectively terminating the Boston Red Sox's 86-year "Curse of the Bambino" World Series drought.
Through his four-year career with the Red Sox, Damon appeared in 597 games and hit 56 home runs. Of his 2,476 at bats, 2,259 were as leadoff hitter. Damon batted second in the lineup for 156 at-bats in 2002, accounting for nearly all of the rest except for occasional pinch hit. He started two games as the third hitter in 2004, and in 2005, he had 624 at-bats, and all but three as the lead-off hitter. He also earned his second All-Star selection, starting as the American League's center fielder. He led the AL with 35 infield hits, and matched the 35 doubles he had hit in 2004.
New York Yankees (2006–2009)
On December 20, 2005, Damon signed a four-year, $52 million contract with the New York Yankees. The Red Sox stood firm on a three-year contract and chose not to negotiate against a five-year deal proposed by agent Scott Boras.Damon's signing with the Yankees led to his being subsequently vilified by many Red Sox fans because of his previously professed loyalty to the city and Red Sox organization, including his now infamous statement in May 2005, where he claimed, "There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they're going to come after me hard. It's definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It's not what I need."
As the Yankees had a strict dress code for players forbidding both long hair and facial hair beyond neat mustaches, Damon had his shoulder-length "cave man" hair cut and beard shaved on December 22. Damon, who had a clean-cut appearance until his third season with the Red Sox, had been planning on cutting his hair and shaving his beard off even if he did not sign with the Yankees, but waited until after he signed with them in order to prevent speculation.
The following season, in a pivotal five game series in August between the Yankees and Red Sox at Fenway Park, Damon went 3-for-6 in each of the first three games, including a doubleheader on August 18, and a game on August 19. Damon hit two home runs, drove in eight runs, and scored eight runs in the first three games as the Yankees won by a combined score of 39–20 and dealt a severe blow to the Red Sox 2006 playoff aspirations.
In 2006, Damon finished third in runs and ninth in stolen bases in the AL, while hitting 24 home runs, his career high. He also tied his mark of 35 doubles from the previous two seasons. He was only one of 4 players in the major leagues to hit at least 24 home runs and steal at least 24 bases.
On June 7, 2008, Damon went 6-for-6 in the Yankees 12–11 win over the Kansas City Royals, including a walk-off ground-rule double, which had bounced over the wall. He is the first Yankee to have six hits in a 9 inning game since Myril Hoag accomplished the feat in 1934. Damon said in a post-game on-field interview that this was his first walk-off as a Yankee.
The Yankees placed Damon on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his MLB career on July 6, 2008, with a bruised AC joint in his left shoulder. The injury occurred a day earlier when Damon collided with the outfield wall in an attempt to catch a triple. At that time, Damon was one of only three active major league ballplayers who had played at least 10 years in the majors without going on the disabled list. He returned to active duty, and hit 27 doubles for the season. Damon hit 53 home runs in his three complete seasons with the Yankees.
On July 27, 2009, Damon hit his 200th career home run against the Tampa Bay Rays' Brian Shouse. For the 2009 season, he batted.282 and tied for the lead among AL left fielders in errors, while he was fourth in the league in runs scored.
Damon hit a home run in Games 3 and 4 of the 2009 ALCS, defeating the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in six games. When the Yankees went on to play the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 World Series, Damon got credit for stealing two bases in one play when the Phillies defense was shifted against batter Mark Teixeira. Damon got his second championship ring as the Yankees would eventually defeat the Phillies in six games.
Damon, after winning his second World Series, entered free agency after the 2009 season despite expressing his desire to return to the Yankees. He insisted that the Yankees not even make him an offer, however, unless they pay him at least the $13 million he earned for the past four years. As a result of his contract demands, the Yankees signed 1B/DH Nick Johnson to a one-year/5.5MM deal, despite Damon lowering his salary demands at the last minute. The Yankees then signed outfielder Randy Winn to a one-year $2 million deal which essentially closed the door on Damon's return to the Bronx.
Detroit Tigers (2010)
On February 20, 2010, Damon agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal with the Detroit Tigers. On April 14, 2010, he recorded his 1,000th career RBI against the Kansas City Royals. On May 1, he hit a walk-off home run against Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher Scot Shields at Comerica Park to win the game 3–2. On July 6, Damon recorded his 2,500th career hit off Jake Arrieta of the Baltimore Orioles, and hit a walk-off home run off David Hernandez, giving the Tigers a 7–5 win. For the season, he batted.271 with eight home runs and 51 RBI. He became a free agent at the end of the season.Tampa Bay Rays (2011)
On January 21, 2011, Damon agreed to a one-year, $5.25 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays also signed his former Boston Red Sox teammate Manny Ramirez in a package deal suggested by agent Scott Boras. Also reunited with Damon was former Red Sox player Kelly Shoppach.Manager Joe Maddon said he expected the 37-year-old Damon to often be replaced by Sam Fuld during the season late in games that the Rays are leading. After Ramirez's abrupt retirement, this would be moot as Damon primarily would play as the designated hitter.
On April 16, 2011, Damon had the game-winning hit for the fifth consecutive game for the Rays, two of which were walk-off hits. On June 29, 2011, Damon tied Ted Williams for 71st on the all-time hit list with 2,654 hits. The hit came at Tropicana Field in the bottom of the sixth inning. On July 2, 2011, Damon went 4-for-4 and his first-inning single moved him past Ted Williams on the all-time hit list. He would finish the season 57th all-time with 2,723 career hits.
In Game 1 of the ALDS, Damon hit a two-run home run in the second inning off Texas Rangers starting pitcher C. J. Wilson to give his team an early 2–0 lead. The Rays won the game 9–0, however they eventually lost the best-of-five divisional series 3–1.