Johnny David Damon was born on November 5, 1973 (Scorpio) in Fort Riley, KS, an army base about 50 miles west of Topeka. After shuttling around the world army-brat style for most of his childhood, his family eventually settled in the Orlando area, where he attended Dr. Phillips High School. (Other notable baseball grads: White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski.) He was drafted in the first round (35th overall pick) by the Kansas City Royals in 1992 at age 18.
He blew through the minor leagues in just four years, swinging a quick stick (.318 average), displaying good patience at the plate (212 walks to 194 strikeouts; .401 OBP), and flashing a lot of speed on the basepaths (152 SB, 48 CS). He didn't hit for a great deal of power, amassing just 31 HR over the four seasons, but showed an ability for finding the gap, collecting 44 triples.
On August 12, 1995, after 111 games at AA Wichita, he skipped AAA entirely and broke into the majors as Kansas City's starting center fielder. For the next five years with the Royals, Damon would shuffle around all three outfield positions. In '96 he played about 60% of his games in center and the rest in right. In '97 he played almost evenly everywhere. In '98 he played center regularly with a smattering of games in right. In '99 he played left field pretty much exclusively. In '00 he spent equal time in center and left with a handful of games as DH.
Despite inconsistency regarding his defensive positioning, Damon's offense was extremely solid during his stay in KC. It took him a couple of years to get his sea legs, during which time his average hovered around the .270 mark. Then in '98 he started hitting for some power, in '99 his average and stolen base totals started climbing. His career arguably peaked in 2000, when he set (still applicable) career highs with a .327 avg, an .877 OPS, 214 hits, 136 runs, and 46 steals (he also led the league in the last two categories).In 2001, at the height of his market value and coming into the final year of a contract in which he was owed $7.1 million, Damon was traded to the Oakland Athletics as part of a three team blockbuster trade. Billy Beane's A's were the clear winners here: Oakland also received Mark Ellis (who is still their starting second baseman) and starting pitcher Cory Lidle (who tragically passed away after the 2006 season). Kansas City got future Rookie of the Year Angel Berroa, washed up catcher A.J. Hinch, and marginally useful veteran reliever Roberto Hernandez. Tampa Bay received only promising outfielder Ben Grieve, who never really panned out.
Damon didn't perform at all well in his contract year, playing center and left field in spacious Oakland Coliseum. He hit just .256 with 9 HR and 27 SB. Granted, he was playing for a team that sent its runners less frequently than any other in the game, and the unfriendly dimensions of the A's's home ballpark may help explain the dropoff in his other offensive stats. Damon did, however, knock the cover off the ball in the 2001 AL Division Series against the Yankees, hitting at a .409 clip with 2 steals over five games.
Maybe it was this impressive performance against the rival Yankees rather than his disappointing 2001 season that netted Damon a pretty decent free agency payoff: 4 years and $32 million from the Boston Red Sox. For those four years, Boston top brass entrusted Damon with center field full time, despite evidence that he might have been better suited to a corner spot. Nevertheless, he more than earned his paycheck in the batter's box, scoring a ton of runs hitting leadoff for a legendarily powerful lineup. He even developed a power stroke at the expense of some of his speed - in 2004, he hit 20 home runs, drove in 94 runs, but stole only 19 bases (as opposed to 30 and 31 the two previous years).2004 also saw the introduction of Damon's caveman-esque long hair and shaggy beard. His new 'do was a morale booster during Boston's historical curse-breaking run, in which they rallied from a near impossible deficit to defeat the Yankees in the ALCS and went on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals to win their first World Series since Babe Ruth became left Boston 84 years ago.
In 2005, Damon again struggled during his contract year, hitting only 10 home runs and not improving on his low SB totals (18). Despite his lost power, Damon signed a mammoth 4-year, $52 million contract with the Yankees, where he was forced to shave his trademark beard. Red Sox Nation promptly spurned the turncoat Damon, who went on to hit a career-high 24 homers while slowly transitioning from center field to left.
In '07 and '08, Damon shied away from the longball (12 and 17) choosing to concentrate on getting on base and subsequently stealing them (27 and 29). But just as it appeared that Damon's big Boston-era bat was on the decline, he switched up his game again in 2009, tying his career-high 24 homers, but stealing only 12 bases.At age 36, Damon and his superagent Scott Boras appear to have fallen into the Greedy Trap of holding out for a contract with too much money and too many years. He still has a very useful set of skills for a major leaguer, but no team seems willing to commit on a deal, the end of which would see them paying top dollar for a 39 or 40-year-old left field/DH type with limited defensive capabilities.
The Tigers have expressed interest. The Braves have expressed interest. We'll just have to wait and see what the market says.
Below is a graphical representation of Johnny Damon's career measured by swp/time.
More charts please!
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