Johnny Damon knows just how much the short porch in right field can help.
With Jacoby Ellsbury’s departure from the Red Sox to the Yankees imminent, Damon believes that the lefty-hitting center fielder and his new team will both benefit from the seven-year, $153 million deal.
Damon went from 14 home runs per season with Boston (2002-05) to 19.25 in The Bronx (2006-09) and helped the Yankees to a World Series title in his final season with the team. He believes the addition of Ellsbury puts the Yankees back in contention with the defending champion Red Sox.
“Oh, I think it’s going to play great for his swing,” Damon told MLB.com. “He has power and still has a lot of good years left in him. And the thing is, New York needed to do it. They’re not looked at as one of the elite teams. With that signing, it puts them right back into the race again. I thought maybe a month ago, a scenario would play out, but I thought maybe Boston would do what they could to sign him.”
Damon, who left Boston for a four-year, $52 million contract from the Yankees, said the adjustment for Ellsbury to his new city shouldn’t be too difficult.
“I actually thought going to New York was easier to deal with just because there’s so much going on because baseball isn’t the New Yorkers’ everything,” said Damon. “They’ve got so many sports teams to follow, they’ve got Broadway, they’ve got actors and actresses, Wall Street, all that stuff. Everybody can kind of do their thing. In Boston, it’s great, people invite you to dinner every night. People pay very close attention there, I would say more of a percentage of people.”
New York will be no problem, Damon said, but he hopes Ellsbury doesn’t have to endure the same treatment he did each time he returned to Fenway Park. Even though Damon helped end an 86-year championship drought, for the fans, despising all things Yankees trumped anything he accomplished.
“I think it depends on what people make of it. Jacoby just helped the team win another World Series,” Damon said. “They’re going to be grateful for that. But the Boston fans are notoriously hateful to Yankee players. The way that Jacoby plays, he’s still going to have the respect throughout the league. The fact is, he hustles, and that’s what Boston wants – somebody who cares about the game and somebody who would run into walls and who would take accountability, and that’s the guy. Yeah, it’s going to be tough at times but he’s a good enough player that the fans are still going to respect what he gave to Boston and what he’s going to give to New York.
“The good thing is Jacoby brought two World Series championships to Boston and he’s a heck of a player. It just seems like he’s finding a way to stay healthy and he’s going to be awesome for New York. Unfortunately for Boston fans, this is kind of what happens sometimes. As much as your heart belonged to Boston and everything, it comes down to being a business. Unfortunately we’re part of that.”