Kansas City Royals Greats: Remembering Johnny Damon

It may be strange to think of Johnny Damon as a possible Hall of Famer. However, a look at his career numbers  shows that the former Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees outfielder has a compelling case.

For the most part, fans can sense greatness as they watch it. Typically, those players destined for the Hall of Fame become obvious, their greatness apparent early on. Then, there are those players whose production happens under the radar, until we are left looking at their resume and debating their Hall of Fame cases. Former Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon definitely belongs to that latter category.

During his playing days, Damon was regarded as a very good player, but hardly one of the best of his era. He was a two time All Star, but never finished in the top ten of the MVP vote. Damon had solid pop, hitting 20 or more homers three times. He also had decent speed, leading the AL in steals in 2000, and having nine seasons with 20 or more stolen bases. However, his weak throwing arm attracted more attention than his production on the diamond.

Damon’s career also ended with a whimper. He floated around as a baseball vagabond, playing with three different teams in his last three years. After struggling with the Indians in 2012, he was released in August, never to return to the majors. Although he never formally announced his retirement, feeling that he was put out to pasture, Damon’s time had passed.

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And yet, when we look back at Damon’s career, his performance is fairly interesting. His career numbers may not seem that impressive, with a lifetime .284/.352/.433 batting line, 2769 hits, 522 doubles, 109 triples, and 235 homers. Damon also chipped in 408 steals. However, in this case, those numbers are impressive as a collection.

Over the course of baseball history, eleven players have ended their careers with 2500+ hits, 500+ doubles, 100+ triples, and 200+ homers. The other ten players are Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Rogers Hornsby, George Brett, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Al Simmons, and Goose Goslin. All ten of those players are in the Hall of Fame.

It certainly does provide an interesting context to Damon’s career. Although he ranks the lowest in most of those categories, he was still enough of an all around threat to join a very elite group of players. Any collection that includes four of the greatest players of all time, and arguably two of the greatest, is worthy of notice.

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Johnny Damon may not have turned heads with his play, but he was a solid player. Based on his career numbers, and the other players to reach all of those milestones, the former outfielder is worthy of being considered for the Hall of Fame.