All-Aughts Team of the Decade CF: Johnny Damon

Johnny Damon came to Boston for the tail-end of the previous regime, getting a taste for how unpopular the club was among players at the time. Damon’s autobiography, Idiot: Beating “The Curse” and Enjoying the Game of Life, related that an unnamed Red Sox player told him he made a mistake signing with the team.

That was back in 2002, when Damon led the American League with 11 triples, erasing the memories of Carl Everett from our mind. The following year, the tide began to turn for both Damon and the Red Sox, as both became fan favorites. In the offseason, Damon grew lazy and allowed his hair and beard to grow out, coming across as a “Caveman” and being referred to as Jesus.

Damon actually turned in a worse 2003 than in 2002, going from a .799 OPS to a .750 OPS. Much like Jacoby Ellsbury in both 2008 and 2009, Damon was exiled to batting in the bottom of the order a few times, an arrangement that was always temporary. Coupled with his still-strong production, his transformation into the Caveman and Boston’s 2003 playoff run, Damon became a very popular player.

Despite Damon’s noodle of an arm and declining range due to his all-out style of play, constantly crashing into walls, he kept improving with the bat. 2004 was his second-best season ever (even to date) via OPS, with 2000’s .877 the only one besting it. His .850 OPS translated from a .304/.380/.477 mark, 35 doubles, six triples 20 home runs and 19 stolen bases.

Damon’s claim to fame during the 2004 World Series run is his grand slam off Javier Vazquez in Game 7 of the ALCS. Vazquez had come in to replace Kevin Brown with the game slipping away. The knock into the upper deck came on the first pitch of Vazquez’s entry into the game and put the nail in the coffin of the greatest comeback/collapse in sports history.

Damon spent 2005 in Boston, hitting .316 and going into free agency primed for a big payday. The club wanted Damon back, but was unwilling to guarantee a salary he was seeking. The Yankees swooped in with a take-it-now-or-leave-it offer of four years and $52 million, and suddenly, The Idiot was a traitor. (Boston offered a four-year, $40 million deal they were unwilling to raise while Damon reportedly was willing to sign for $46 million.)

Damon had said before that he would never sign with the Yankees — likely a statement made in the heat of the moment without really thinking about it — and this quote would haunt Damon, as he was greeted with resounding boos in 2006. (Fire Brand archive: Here Comes Johnny, 5/1/06.) To his credit, he gamely waved his helmet, acknowledging the cheers he thought were there. (Fire Brand archive: Johnny Who? 2/10/06.)

Frankly, while Damon’s production held up, I think Boston lucked out in not bringing him back. He would have played center field up until at least Manny’s departure. While we probably would have still traded Edgar Renteria to Atlanta for Andy Marte, we wouldn’t have flipped Marte for Coco Crisp, whose defense was instrumental to the 2007 championship run. (Fire Brand archive: The Danger of Damon, 12/22/05; (Another) Case against Johnny Damon, 12/23/05.)

You can’t say the team wouldn’t have won without Damon, but Jacoby Ellsbury would have been blocked by a quickly declining Damon would would become a complete liability in left field without the power boost Yankee Stadium provided him. Jacoby would have almost certainly been traded by now, while Andy Marte would have flamed out. (Fire Brand archive: My Favorite Prospect And Future Star: Jacoby Ellsbury, 7/17/06.)  It’s possible that Boston could have traded Manny for a centerfielder and pushed Damon to left, but it’s difficult to imagine such a deal being pulled off.

Damon has just completed his four-year pact and is currently on the free agent market. It seems as if he and agent Scott Boras overplayed their hand, asking for too many years and dollars. The Yankees quickly moved on, importing Curtis Granderson to play center and saying that Brett Gardner is likely to start in left field, although the club would like to bring in a right-handed bat. I remain skeptical that the Yankees plan to move on with Damon, especially after Damon took a liking to new Yankee Stadium, cranking 24 home runs.

Although I’ve just contended we were likely better off without Damon from 2006-9, he was a tremendous asset from 2002-5. He oversaw a clubhouse transformation into a team that genuinely enjoyed being with each other. Along with Kevin Millar, he helped perpetuate the “Idiot” makeup that defined the 2004 season. Johnny Damon is extremely deserving of being the starting centerfielder on the All-Aughts Team of the Decade.