Turn Back The Clock-December 23rd, 2005: Damon Becomes A Yankee
By Billy Brost
In today’s Turn Back The Clock, we will take a look back at one of the more impact free agent signings by the New York Yankees in recent years. Let me set the stage for you. Javier Vazquez is on the mound for the Yankees, it’s Game Seven of the 2004 American League Championship Series, and the bases were loaded. The Bombers, who had been up 3 games-to-none, were now staring history in the face, as they were on the verge of a complete collapse to their arch rival Boston Red Sox. At the plate stepped Johnny Damon, and by the time the at-bat was finished, the bases were cleared, Vazquez once again proved why he was a bad investment, and the “Curse of the Bambino” was en route to being eliminated once and for all for Red Sox Nation.
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Fast-forward to the off-season the following year, the Red Sox’ World Series crown had been ripped away by the eventual champion Chicago White Sox–another team looking to end an extended streak without a title, and the Red Sox were in a state of flux. Out of nowhere, the Sox center fielder, free agent Johnny Damon, slapped Red Sox Nation squarely in the face, and signed a four-year, $52 million dollar deal with the “Evil Empire.” The clean-shaven Damon would now be the Yankees’ center fielder and lead-off man, something the team had lacked since the departure of second baseman/outfielder Chuck Knoblauch. No disrespect to Alfonso Soriano, but he was not a legitimate lead-off guy.
Damon did not disappoint during his first season in pinstripes, hitting .285 with 24 home runs and 85 driven in. The Yankees fell in the playoffs to the Detroit Tigers, who represented the American League in the World Series that season, before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals. Damon’s four seasons in the Bronx proved to be productive, as he finished hitting exactly .285, with 77 long balls and 275 RBI. One of the most memorable moments of Damon’s tenure in New York, came during his final season in the Bronx during the 2009 World Series. Many consider the play the turning point of that World Series for the Bombers. Damon continued running all the way to third base, when the Phillies left the bag unoccupied, Damon advanced to third base, eventually scoring a decisive run.
Damon desired a return to the Bronx after the Yankees won the 2009 World Series, but the Yankees passed, and Damon bounced around the last couple of seasons of his career before finally hanging up the spikes for good after the 2012 season with Cleveland. He is one of the few players in modern baseball history to have won a World Series with both the Red Sox and the Yankees. It was today, 9 years ago, the Yankees snatched Damon away from the Boston Red Sox.