LAKELAND, Fla. — Johnny Damon did a round of hugs with former Yankees teammates yesterday by the batting cage at Joker Marchant Stadium. Asked later about it, he said, “Secretly, they all miss me.”
He then smiled and said, “Openly they all hate me.”
Damon still is the life of the baseball party, even though he is a Tiger. He signed a one-year deal for $8 million following his Yankees divorce. He was scratched from yesterday’s game because of turf toe, but he said he could have played if this were a regular season game. He said he plans on playing at least 140 games, maybe 150.
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As for his split with the Yankees, he said, “I’m OK with it. I wish I could have walked away after four championships. I’m just happy that our team was able to win a championship last year. We definitely are on good terms, they are just doing things the way they want to and I have to do it my way. It’s a little different for some people but when it’s all said and done at least I did it the right way also.
“Unfortunately, the richest team has a budget coming off spending $423 million one offseason,” he said. “This offseason had to be different for them. It could change again next year.”
Damon hurt his toe playing with his kids at home. That’s Johnny.
Fans have criticized Damon for leaving the Yankees but he said he really had no choice in the matter.
“The Yankees had until Feb. 20 to sign me,” Damon said. “I think the whole thing was that they just wanted to bring in a bunch of new guys. When we had the initial contract talks it was kind of take it or leave it. We had all that time to leave it. I kind of feel like any time it’s a take it or leave it type of situation it’s not good. It was an easy way for me not to be back.”
Damon believes the decision was made a lot earlier and now that he is gone, he is happy with his new baseball life just as he was happy when he left the Red Sox. He never wore his Red Sox world championship ring in New York. “I’ll wear these two together, there’s not too many guys who can do that,” he said.
“In the offseason I was hearing all this garbage out there that ‘he’s unhappy,’ I play baseball, I’m a baseball player,” Damon added. “I’m happy-go-lucky. I just try to play, hopefully there is more good than bad, just do it.”