Will the real Johnny Damon please report to the Red Sox

[TimmyB]

This season, in 35 games, he's hitting .238, with .741 OPS.

Maybe he's not really the .300 hitter of 1999 and 2000... but, this? Last year his season tailed off due to some knee issues, but he had a great start to the season (does anyone have those numbers?).

He started slow in '01 as I recall (and finished with a .687 OPS).

What's the story? Who's the real Johnny Damon? (And is he really a lead-off hitter with these numbers?)

[Wolf Hopper]

http://www.netshrine.com/vbulletin2/...&threadid=8790

I think some made a case in the above thread that Damon was not that good - - -

even when he was good in KC, if I recall correctly, the home park helped him A LOT.

[KCBOOMER]

Damon hasn't done much since leaving KC. Looks like he had his career year one year early.

I can't see how a symmetrical ball park with grass would greatly assist Damon's offensive numbers. The illusion of Royals Stadium as a hitters ballpark is caused by the Royals poverty of pitching.

[Wolf Hopper]

Originally posted by KCBOOMER
I can't see how a symmetrical ball park with grass would greatly assist Damon's offensive numbers. The illusion of Royals Stadium as a hitters ballpark is caused by the Royals poverty of pitching.

Check the stats - - http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/player...ting&year=2000

In his last year as a Royal, his HOME OPS was .983 - - on the ROAD, his OPS was .767.

That's a big gap, IMHO.

[TimmyB]

Originally posted by Wolf Hopper
Check the stats - - http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/player...ting&year=2000

In his last year as a Royal, his HOME OPS was .983 - - on the ROAD, his OPS was .767.

That's a big gap, IMHO.

Uh... yeah, it is. So now he's playing every game like it's a road game?

What I don't get is his fast start last season. He sure looked more like the '99 vintage.

[Craig S.]

I've always thought Damon was a guy who looked better when you only saw him on occasion. Having watched him a lot over the past couple of years, he's seemed a lot less impressive.

[SmedIndy]

The KC park effect may be real, but it's mistifying. What is he hitting at KC as a visitor?

[Wolf Hopper]

Originally posted by SmedIndy
The KC park effect may be real, but it's mistifying. What is he hitting at KC as a visitor?

Last year, his OPS there was a whopping 1.874 - - but, you have remember who he was hitting against.

[KCBOOMER]

Originally posted by Wolf Hopper In his last year as a Royal, his HOME OPS was .983 - - on the ROAD, his OPS was .767.

A guy hitting better in his home park than he does on the road isn't proof the home park is a hitter's park.

Put a decent pitching staff in Royals stadium and it will go back to being neutral to pitcher's park.

As for Damon's flop, that's hard to explain. He should be heading right into his prime years. Maybe a player selecting Scott Boras as his agent is cursed with money but no performance.

[nyy26wc]

Originally posted by KCBOOMER
Put a decent pitching staff in Royals stadium and it will go back to being neutral to pitcher's park.

If you give the Royals a decent pitching staff, it's not going to affect whether KC is a hitters/pitchers park. If the Royals have better pitching, the total runs/game at home will decline as a result of that, but the better pitchers will also allow less runs on the road.

On the other hand, if you can put a decent Kauffman Stadium only pitching staff together and have those same pitchers stink on the road, that will change the park into a pitcher's one.

Meanwhile, as far as 2003 is concerned, KC has been a neutral park so far. 9.82 runs/game are scored in Royals home games, 9.67 runs/game are scored on the road. That's a little under a 102 park factor.

[qtlaw]

Followed Damon for a year when he was with the A's, a nice player coming off a great year but he looked like just a slap hitter with some speed, not great, and a weak arm. He did not walk that much. The Bosox got a very expensive Juan Pierre, that's it.

[Wolf Hopper]

I see JD has his priorities straight

"You think he's going to have a birthday party? You think he's hitting the town tonight? I'd like to be around for that."

– Red Sox CF Johnny Damon on David Wells, who turns 40 on May 20. Wells held the Sox to one run over 6 2/3 innings in the Yankees' 7-3 win over Boston on May 19.

this from ESPN.com's Yankees' team page

[spitball]

Damon has one of the ugliest swings in all of baseball.
Kind of reminds me of Kirk Gibson.
He has the same arm as well.

[Jim Rice]

Pretty much everything about Damon's style is ugly, with the obvious exception of his baserunning. He's got an ugly swing, an ugly approach to fly balls and a REALLY ugly throwing motion. I've never seen anyone that fast look less fluid. I saw him first-hand here in KC and now I still see a lot of him because he's on my favorite team, and I don't recall ever watching him and thinking that he looked natural out there. He looks like he's awkwardly trying out everything for the first time, like a little kid. He's got no discernable learning curve that I can see - it all still looks like an effort for him.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Damon is overrated in this decade as Vince "M-80" Coleman was in the 1980s. Damon has two things over Vince: plate discipline, and the ability to play CF acceptably.

Damon is NOT a star; he's a quality regular who has been treated like a star, although he's never been a star; not even for the best 10 minutes of his life. Well, maybe a MINOR star. He fills a slot. He can play CF, and he walks enough and runs well enough to lead off even if he doesn't hit .300.

Still, he's overrated. I'd rather have someone else.