Johnny Damon is the perfect example of a player who will be on the bubble for Hall of Fame voting. If someone told you he got into the Hall of Fame, you probably would not be surprised. If he were left out, that likely wouldn’t shock you either. In the event that Damon does become a Hall of Famer, he would have a tough decision to make regarding what uniform to wear.
Now in his 17th season as a Major Leaguer, Damon is playing for his sixth different ball club. He has a career batting average of .287, has stolen nearly 400 bases, belted over 200 homers, has more than 1,000 RBI, and is 331 hits shy of 3,000. Aside from the actual numbers, Damon has won a World Series with arguably the two most storied franchises in baseball history — the Red Sox and Yankees. Having spent four years in the prime of his career with Boston and New York, one would think his decision would come down to which superpower he would want to be forever associated with. Not so fast.
According to Royals Review via Hardball Talk, Damon would like to enter the Hall of Fame — if chosen — as a member of the storied Kansas City Royals.
“Well, it’s a tough decision,” he explained. “Four years in Boston, four years in New York, five and a half years in Kansas City. And if you go by the numbers, that’s where my best years were. So if they’d have me…”
As Hardball Talk pointed out, it’s possible Damon was just trying to avoid starting a debate between Red Sox and Yankee Nation when he is far from a lock for the Hall to begin with. As for whether or not he’s serious: use your head. Do you really think he would ignore the fact that he won a World Series ring with the two teams every kid dreams of playing for? Not a chance.
