Johnny - The answer is NO!!
Ian Browne, the beat writer for the Boston Red Sox wrote an article about the debate over which baseball team is the "Team of the Decade" It's a great article and I recommend you check it out. I was really enjoying it until I got to this quote:
The Yankees are the team of all time. They're the franchise that every
kid grows up and says, 'I would love to be able to put the Pinstripes
on.'
Huh? So who said that? A-Rod? Derek Jeter? Mariano Rivera? No. This guy said it...
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Johnny Damon.
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Johnny Damon.
Really? Every kid who grows up playing baseball wants to play for the Yankees? So Johnny, what about when you said:
So was it the greatest moment to win the World Series when you played for the Red Sox or not? Or would it have been better if that win came with the Yankees?
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"I know this is the greatest moment in my baseball career. We're world champions now. This is a dream come true.
So was it the greatest moment to win the World Series when you played for the Red Sox or not? Or would it have been better if that win came with the Yankees?
I fell in love with Boston, so hopefully, I`ll be here for a long time.
Maybe Michelle doesn't go to any games so she doesn't know what team he plays for.Maybe you didn't really love Boston Johnny.
"I would like to finish up my career here."
But why would you say you wanted to finish your career here in Boston if the goal of all baseball players is to play for the Yankees?
"There's no way I can go play for the Yankees"
"There's no way I can go play for the Yankees"
Really Johnny? Do you know what uniform you're wearing now? And even your wife Michelle said in October, 2005:
"I can't see him in a Yankees uniform"
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Look, I'm old enough and I have been a fan of baseball long enough to know that it is "Big Business". I'm not naive enough to think at the end of the day to many of the players and owners and fans it is anything more then that. But the statements that Damon made do irk me. I do NOT believe that every young boy grows up wanting to play for the New York Yankees. Please. No one every wants to play for the team they grow up watching and cheering for? If I were a professional ball player I would want nothing more then to play for the Boston Red Sox. They represent the pinnacle of the baseball world to me. And like many of members of Red Sox Nation, I think Johnny is a traitor. He said he wouldn't play for the Yankees and yet a few months later that is exactly who he went to. It was a slap in the face to all the Red Sox fans.
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You made us all believe Johnny. We all thought that the "loveable idiot" would stay in Boston. I can't help but wonder - does Johnny really mean what he says about the Yankees or will he change his mind again if another team comes along with a longer contract or more money? There has been some talk that Damon could come back to Boston; that the Yankees won't pick up his contract next season. To that talk I say...
Thanks, but no thanks. Once was enough.
Learn to let a grudge go. Damon was great for the Red Sox but he has had career highs in HR's as a New York Yankee! The Yankees are in the World Series in 2009 and LF Johnny Damon has a lot to do with that.
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WWJDD? GTTY!
(What Would Johnny Damon Do? Go To The Yankees!)
'NUFF SAID! SO LONG JOHNNY!
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stinks being in the jilted party. remember Rich Rodriguez? current head football coach at Michigan, when he was at WVU everything was grand. He was a hometown boy and time and time again he said how much he loved West Virginia and how he wanted to be here for so so long. but i guess greener pastures are always out there. when he dashed off to michigan i lost all favor with him and wish him nothing but the worst
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I'm sick of all the contradictory statements in sports. Why are the Yankees labeled as America's Team? (Which they are not) Because from the beginning they have been money teams. Generally, 29 teams have to develop talent, then the Yankees steal said talent, by using their inexhaustable cash reserves.
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MONEY TALKS. And for some reason, Damon has never separated himself from the "band of idiots" party lines. It happens.
--Jeff
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It gets tiring when you hear players say things like that. I mean, obviously they won't say bad things about their 'new' team and even if I'd hope they don't badmouth an ex-team, but that happens -- a lot. But I agree with you: I'd think most boys would want to play for whatever team they grew up watching, be it their hometown team, the team their dad rooted for, the team their favorite player is on...
~AZ
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You put it "right on the money" with this blog.
-Saundra
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True...Damon hit FOUR more home runs in 2005 than 2004. He again hit 24 this year. So, he has tied his career best. The 24 weren't enough to help the Yankees postseason in 2005...maybe it was just what they needed this year. I noticed he was pulled fom the game when the Yankees needed a defensive arm (a desirable attribute to an outfielder). That wasn't the point though. If he hit .301 (like our current Center Fielder), stole 60 bases (like our current Center Fielder), struck out 74 times in 624 at-bats (like our current Center Fielder), instead of 98 in 550 at-bats, we still wouldn't want him back. Which is the point.
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I'm guessing it is pretty hard to turn down an offer when you would get paid an extra $10 or so million, even when you have had great times with one team.
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Ok, a lot of Yankees fans don't understand why we Red Sox fans would be so upset about a guy changing teams. Because, at face value, it happens all the time. Nobody expects a player to turn down mllions of dollars in order to play for their "favorite" team. Jason Bay admits that he loves playing in Boston. What Jason has done differently, he has been honest and forthcoming that he wants to play here if the right deal can be struck. And that if it can't, he'll miss Boston. What Damon did was talk to Red Sox fans about what a great time he had. That no matter what, he loved beating the Yankees and could never play their brand of baseball. All the while he was negotiating that larger contract with that very organization. I'm paraphrasing of course, I don't remember exactly how he worded that promise, but, I'm close enough. Had he been honest with the fans, he would have likely been praised for his help, offered best wishes for the future and welcomed back. It has nothing to do with the business or the money. It's an integrity issue.
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What's wrong with "I'd love to be able to put the pinstripes on"? That's exactly how I'd feel! Hey, even Jason Bay might be wondering the same thing! Works for me! I do feel bad for Damon because I don't think he's ever been fully embraced by Yankee fans. Many of us still view him as the Caveman in Boston. And of course, I don't have memorable feelings about 2004. Nevertheless, I am locked into watching the World Series while you are wondering when the Patriots are coming back from London and watching the Celtics push the ball up the floor...Big Papi is nothing but a distant memory. Again, works for me!
Scott
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I remember reading what he said back when he was still in Boston. I thought he'd resign with the Sox or go elsewhere... but not to New York. He is nothing more than a backstabber to Red Sox Nation and if he wins a World Series ring with the Yankees, well, I will not be happy. I like that shirt though. Looks like Jesus, throws like Mary, Traitor like Judas, Traitor B Gone!! If there is a Top 100 enemies for Red Sox Nation, he'd be on top with Babe Ruth and Wade Boggs. Oh and Roger Clemens.
-Holly
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