2018 HOF Candidate: Johnny Damon

This year our first profile of a non-Phils HOF Candidate goes to Johnny Damon.

If you have been following the Ryan Thibodaux Hall of Fame vote tracker it is pretty obvious Johnny Damon is going to be a one and done candidate.

As of January 2 2018 Thibodaux had recorded 159 ballots, Johnny Damon received one vote. It was from Rick Telander who put together a complementary paragraph to justify his Damon selection.

He’ll never get in, but the guy thrilled many of us during those magical Red Sox-Yankees battles when the Theo Epstein-led Sox were emerging from their Cubs-like title drought. In 2002, Damon led the American League in triples. In 2004, he was second in the AL in runs scored. He sported wild hair and a lumberjack beard years before the latter became fashionable. I dug it.

2010 Heritage #309 Damon Steals 2 Bags on 1 Pitch

To honor Damon's career we pick a Topps Heritage card that shows off Johnny Damon's base running skills at the expense of the 2009 Phillies.

The play occurred during game four of the World Series. Damon came to the plate in the 9th inning of a 4-4 tie. There were 2 outs and nobody on base. He singled to left field to get the go-ahead run on base. The Phillies used a defensive shift versus Left-Handed batting Mark Teixeira. Damon stole 2nd on the first pitch easily beating a short throw from Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. Damon then popped up and took off towards an unguarded third base.

Thus as the card says he stole "2 Bags on 1 Pitch".

Damon would later score on an Alex Rodriguez double, the scoring did not end there as the Yankees racked up 3 runs and took the game 7-4.

2010 Heritage #309 Damon Steals 2 Bags on 1 Pitch (b-side)

Interesting back of the card, where Topps mimics the 1961 World Series cards which Heritage echoes. Not sure but I believe 1961 is the only year that Topps used the "How They Scored" approach on the back of World Series cards. I don't think I need to see it every year but it is interesting to see it once.

The original 1961T #309 card also featured a big play at second. During the 1960 World Series the Yankees were the victims while the Pittsburgh Pirates were on offense.

The runner involved was Pirates left fielder Gino Cimoli. With the Pirates down a run in the fifth Cimoli beat a fielders choice throw to 2nd base. He would eventually be the first of three runs to score during the inning. That was all the Pirates needed to post a 3-2 victory.

One more thing
Johnny Damon is a Thai-American. That is the same Heritage as my own!

And in 2013 he chose to represent Thailand in the World Baseball Classic. Thailand didn't get very deep in the WBC, but Damon did get the opportunity to help develop the game there.

Hopefully someday I will get to see the Thai baseball team or even a baseball game in Thailand.

Until then I am happy to wear the above Thailand WBC cap whenever I get the opportunity. 

Verdict
HOF, I gotta go with Johnny Damon and his Asian roots here.

Johnny Damon Player Index

2009 Heritage #163 - Damon plays for Thailand WBC
2009 Topps T206 #261 - Pack Break
2008 Topps Chrome X-Fractor #106 - Swag Posting
2005 Leaf Century Collection #58 - Year of the Ox


2009 1102 - Game Report (World Series Game 5)
Wilmington Blue Rocks Number Retirement Ceremony


Sources and Links
2018 HOF Candidates
Game Dated Cards 
Chicago Sun-Times Rick Telander
BB HOF Tracker
Sports on Earth Pat Jordan
New York Times
Baseball-Ref 

Johnny Damon Number Retirement by Wilmington Blue Rocks and Class A All-Star Game

On Tuesday Night as Part of the California vs Carolina League All-Star game the Wilmington Blue Rocks retired the jersey #18 of Johnny Damon

Johnny Damon

I have been a Damon fan for a variety of reasons. He was an exciting palyer who racked up a lot of hits, ran well and had some pop. He made it to the playoffs with the A's Red Sox and Yankees winning the World Series with the latter two squads. One of the other reasons I like Damon is we share an ethnicity. He and I both have a Thai Mother and American father. it is a unique combination that was precipitated by each of our fathers being stationed in Thailand during the Viet Nam War.

Jonny Damon has honored his heritage by returning to Thailand to promote baseball and represented the country as a player during the 2013 World Baseball Calssic.

In a nice touch to the retirement ceremony, Damon and the Blue Rocks brought back Damon's House Mother from his Wilmington tenure. She is shown in the background of the above photo along with another popular Blue Rocks alum Mike Sweeney.

All-Star Game

There was also a game played last night - The Carolina League All-Stars hosted their Califormia League counterparts. Both Leagues are at a level that is referred to as High Class A. It was a good opportunity for us East Coasters to see some prospects that play for Western Division organizations.

Tha Cal League won the game 3-2 with two Cincinnati Reds prospects leading the way.

Kyle Waldrop

All Three of California's Runs were plated by Kyle Waldrop who hit a Long 2 Run HR to center in addtion to an RBI single.

Ben Lively

The Reds #9 Prospect Ben Lively stuck out 2 of the first 3 batters he faced while pitching a pair of perfect innings for the victors. I would think that Lively has greatly icreased his Prospect status this season posting a 10-1 record and 2.28 ERA including a solid 95-16 K/BB ratio. Both Lively and Waldrop were promoted to AA Pensacola following the game.

Line Ups

A couple of noteables in there. Courtney Hawkins is the White Sox prospect that did a backflip on the podium at the 2012 Draft. Last year Team Phungo ran down to Wilmington to give Hawkins the Eye Test. He failed miserably, I am happy to report Hawkins is having a much better 2014 and appears to be a lot more patient at the plate. Kyle Wren is the son of Braves GM Frank Wren. Corey Seager is making some noise in the Dodgers Org, batting .340 with 12 Homers this season. Gabriel Guerrero is the nephew of Vlad and appears to have a similar build and batting stance. He his playing well for Seattles Hi Desert squad.

Carlos Correa

2013 1st overall pick Carlos Correa didn't get to start but did sub into the game. He went 0-2 with a K in his first AB. Still 19 Correa has displayed good hitting ability at the Hi-A level well represented by his .329/.421/.502 slash line. He was as big as any player on the field for the game and it will be interesting to see if he remains at shortstop or moves to another position as he continues to fill out.

Sources
Johnny Damon Index
Baseball America

Johnny Damon to play for Thailand in the WBC

I realize that I am one of the few people that is interested in the World Baseball Classic.  I admit that the event has it's issues and it inteferes greatly with the MLB season, however I don't think the the WBC is entirely without merit.  

My mom was born and raised in Thalland, I have been fortunate to visit there several times - most recently in 2007. I am very excited to see that Thailand will be part of the 2013 WBC, even if it is only in next weeks Qualifying round.  Thailand's bracket is hosted by China-Taipei (Taiwan) - who I would think is a strong favorite to win the pool.  Regardless, Baseball is a funny game - in a smal round robin tourney One strong pitching performance coupled with an error or somebody crushing a hainging curve can significantly alter the outcome. 

Last month while Team Phungo was on the road word got out that Johnny Damon will play for Thailand in the WBC. I am sure most folks responded with a shrug and/or  "What the hell is Damon's connection to Thailand?".  Like myself Damon's mother is of Thai heritage but he grew up in here in the states.  Beyond that we have very few similiarites - He is a Major League Baseball player, I blog about Baseball Cards.  He can grow a full beard in an afternoon, that would take me a decade.

 2009 Topps Heritage #163 Johnny Damon

I found out about Damon's Thai connection relatively recently.  Fortunately I have always enjoyed him as a player (except when the Yankees beat the Phils in 2009) and have built a small collection of his cards. He is a good player who appeared on the national stage frequently with the BoSox and Yankees. He is an engaging personality, I hope he and the rest of the Thai team have some success in the WBC - The game will grow in Thailand and maybe someday there will be a true Thai ballplayer in the majors.

If I read the WBC schedule correctly Thailand and Damon will play their opening game on Wednesday November 14th.  It appears the MLB Network will be carrying games either on TV or On-Line.  Stay Tuned.  We will have significantly more coverage of the WBC than reader interest.

Sources and Links
Johnny Damon Index

WBC Index

First Pack of the Decade 2009 Topps 206 Retail

Haven't seen anything out there that really makes me want to collect this product. I was at Target over the weekend and picked up a single retail pack for $3.17 including PA Sales Tax. Here are the Highlights:



(click to enlarge)
#145 David DeJesus - First card of the year - I can deal with that one.
#261 Johnny Damon - My Favorite Yankee Will go into my Damon Collection
#26 Chien-Ming Wang - not pictured
#138 mini Elvis Andrus - Piedmont Back
#130 Bronze Honus Wagner - Not a bad bronze to get
#187 Travis Hafner - not pictured.

Not a bad pack. No Phillies and No surprises. I doubt I will collect this set or even collect a single player per team from the set. Like a lot of other folks I am a bit retroed out of the non-Topps style cards. I am not real excited about 2010 Heritage either - the 1961 design doesn't do a lot for me.

Regardless it is fun to get the first pack of the year under my belt.

Sources and Links
Johnny Damon Index

Phungo Game Report - 2009 11 02 - World Series Game 5: Yankees 6 @ Phillies 8

As you probably suspect, Team Phungo really wanted to catch a World Series game this year. But, I knew that due to such annoying factors as ticket cost and ticket demand the chances of us catching a World Series game were pretty slim.

well....

Yesterday I made the somewhat impulsive decision to take my girlfriend to the final home game of the Phillies 2009 Season. Turned out it was the right decision.

Last year I got to go to a game, but couldn't get another ticket - it was great to get a second chance and be able to share the experience with her.

Several things fell together so that we could make it to the game.

1) Unfortunately the Phils fell to 1-3 in the Series - however, this resulted in the ticket prices for game 5 falling to a level which I only felt moderately guilty about spending.

2) The weather took a pretty nice turn.

3) I wasn't all worn out from my typical weekend of excessive decadence.

4) This is absolutely key - The Phils had a favorable pitching match-up and this definitely factored into the decision.

It took the confluence of all the events just to get us to make the decision to go.

I monitored prices on Stubhub till about 1p and made a purchase of one of the last pairs of tickets in a section which I considered both good enough and affordable.

We were in the upper level but got to sit behind the plate. That is good enough for me and fits my budget.

The game got off with a slight hiccup but Chase Utley straightened that out in the bottom of the first with a 3 run homer. Utley would add a 2nd dinger a few innings later to give him 5 in the series and tie Reggie Jackson for HRs in a single World Series. Cliff Lee had a good almost great outing. The Phils dicey bullpen gave us a scare, but in the end the Phils Won 8-6.

It was a great experience. The Phils faced eliminations and lived. One of their star players belted 2 homers and had 4 RBIs. And we got to see a reigning Cy Young award winner start in a World Series game against the New York Yankees. What more can you want.

Here are a few picks from a very fun evening (click to enlarge):


Yankees BP - you can see some of the hordes of media down by the visiting dugout on the left.

First Pitch - Hall of Famers Jim Bunning and the 83 year old Robin Roberts

Alanis Morissette - This is the pick of the Celebrity Anthem singers in the Series for my tastes.

I didn't get many good game shots. Just a couple pitcher v batter ones.


Cliff Lee v Johnny Damon

The ESPN Crew including Krukker and Bobby Valentine

And finally...

This Trophy is still property of the Philadelphia Phillies!!
for at least the next couple of days and hopefully longer


One final comment hey Major League Baseball - Get your stuff together, what the hell is the World Series Trophy doing sitting on an 6 inch high Amazon box covered by a piece of cloth. Yes it is sitting there like a foot off the ground - those khakis behind the trophy belong to a SEATED Al Leiter. Ridiculous - throw down a few bucks and build a stinkin Pedastal for the thing.

For all you Spot the Sig! fans, I am running behind this week, I may just fold the Profile into next weeks Auto. Congrats to Autograph Cards on picking Carl Crawford.

Sources and Links
Game Dated Cards Index
Johnny Damon Index 

Cards for Clunkers Swag from Nachos Grande

Cincinnati Reds Blogger Chris of Nachos Grande is doing his part to get the economy moving. He has started a Cards for Clunkers stimulus package. Simply put he has a few choice cards, that are Clunkers in his collection, and he is moving them out via trade for any cards that you have on his more recent Want lists.

Chris had some great Phils Gold Parallels and I had some extra UD Masterpieces for trade. I sent out a couple of cards on Chris' Want List and a few other Reds cards, He was good enough to get me the Gold Cards, plus some Phils.

1981 Topps #540 Mike Schmidt
2008 Goudey #145 Richie Ashburn
1988 Topps #406 Shane Rawley NL All-Star
1998 UD Collector's Choice #203 Midre Cummings

I am not sure how many Schmidt Cards I have from the Topps Base issued during his playing days. Probably 1/3 to half of them. This 1981 Topps is new to my collection and I am glad to have the card.

Another HOF card in the bounty was this sweet looking 08 Goudey Ashburn. Shane Rawley's only All-Star selection was for the 1986 game, in which he did not appear. This is a 1988 Topps card and the All-Star designation here is likely for the Topps team. Rawley was 2nd in the league with 17 victories during the 1987 season. Midre Cummings only played for the Phils during the 2nd half of the 1997 season, and I doubt there were many cards issued of him as a Phile. He ended up the Phils principle center fielder during their miserable 1997 campaign.



2008 Topps Chrome Xfractor #106 Johnny Damon

I have recently started a few player Collections, and Johnny Damon is one of the players I am collecting. The others are Garry Maddox, Jamie Moyer, Chase Utley, Bill Lee and Mike Mussina.

I really don't have many Johnny Damon Cards and figured having a shiny X-fractor would be a nice anchor for one of the Damon pages.

And a Special Thanks to Nachos Grande for including the Brad Lidge Sketch Card from the Gint-a-Cuffs Promotion.

I hope that Nachos Grande is as happy with their new cards as team Phungo is with these fine selections.

Sources and Links
Johnny Damon Index 

Faux Blaster - 2009 Topps Heritage

I have been on vacation for the past week and have taken a much needed break from all Net related activities. Thanks for your patience while I sort through some stuff and figure out what I was working on pre-vaca. Today I will open by posting a Faux Blaster. Basically my Faux blasters consist of $20 worth of Hobby Packs of a particular product.

This entry will focus on 2009 Topps Heritage. For my $20 I was able to pick up 6 packs of Heritage Hobby at a recent card show (ok it was a couple of months back - but who's counting).

Here are some of the highlights:


2009 Topps Heritage # BF1 Mickey Mantle Flashback (643 Foot Homer @ Tiger Stadium)
2009 Topps Heritage # 218 Ozzie Guillen
2009 Topps Heritage # 73 David Price Rookie Star
2009 Topps Heritage # 387 2008 World Series Game #3 (Carlos Ruiz)


2009 Topps Heritage # 319 Mike Aviles Topps All-Star Rookie
2009 Topps Heritage # 449 Nick Swisher (SP)
2009 Topps Heritage # 163 Johnny Damon
2009 Topps Heritage # 397 Chicago Cubs / Checklist

I am particularly fond of the Carlos Ruiz card of course and also the Johnny Damon base card. and here is why:
2009 Topps Heritage #163 Johnny Damon (B-side)
2008 Seattle Mariners @ New York Yankees game ticket 2008-05-03
(click to enlarge)

Check out the first season highlight on Damon's card. It occurred at the final Major League game I attended at Yankee Stadium last year. Pretty cool and I get to add it to my Phungo Games collection.

Overall the faux blaster was okay, I came out with a couple of stars but was a little short on inserts and was not lucky enough to pull any big hits - The Swisher card was my sole short print. I did get the vendor to throw in a 70 card grab bag box that contained some good stuff including a few Phillies and a couple of 08 Topps Finest.

And I also cheated just a bit on my Faux Blaster by picking up this buyback card that I spotted.

1960 Topps #47 Don Zimmer (2009 Topps Heritage Buy Back)

The Zimmer card went for $3 and was in a sheet of other buybacks of lesser known players. The card is in pretty good shape and for $3 I consider it a steal. Don Zimmer is not a Hall of Famer but surely doesn't deserve to be slumming with a bunch of commons.

So there you have it for $23.10 (includes a single of Ronny Paulino as a Phil out of a dime box also) I have picked 50 2009 Topps Heritage cards. The only Phil I recieved other than the Paulino was the WS Highlight of Ruiz. Including tax, a 2009 topps Heritage retail Blaster would typically run $21.59. For hobby I consider these 6 packs a little disappointing simply for being short on Phillies and running below expected on the insert ratios, but finding the Zimmer card makes up for any issues with the rest of the content.

I will be catching up on things the next week or so (and maybe sneaking out to a card show today) but should be back with a Phungo 5 sometime next week.

Happy New Years - Chinese Style - Year of the Ox - Yogi, Marichal, Schmidt, Donnie Baseball, the Caveman and Joba

January 26th 2009 marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year. This year is the year of the Ox. To help celebrate the New Year I dined on some Chicken Shu Mai this evening, and I also put together this Chinese New Year Post.

The Chinese Zodiac is based off of a lunar calendar and is marked by Years rather than months. I am sure you have seen this on a place mat in a Chinese restaurant at some point in your life. 2009 is the year of the Ox, as is every 12th year going backwards and forwards. The most recent celebrations of Year of the Ox have been in 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, and 1997.

Here are some Major League Baseball Oxen.

1959 Topps #180 Yogi Berra - Born 1925
1973 Topps #480 Juan Marichal - Born 1937

1987 Topps Kmart #31 Mike Schmidt - Born 1949
1989 Fleer #258 Don Mattingly - Born 1961

2005 Leaf Century Collection #58 Johnny Damon - Born 1973
2008 Topps Foil #596 Joba Chamberlain - Born 1985

There you have a superstar Year of the Ox group of players. According to Dinged Corners "the Ox is patient, tireless in his work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint." So what do you think, do these players demonstrate the qualities of the Ox?

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Also, If you haven't done so already please take the time to vote in the Phungo Jim Rice poll.

Sources and Links
Johnny Damon Index

The House that Ruth Built

On Sunday September 21 2008, The New York Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles in the final game at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankee’s are a team which has a legacy so great that Topps and Upper Deck have dedicated entire series’ to single players:

And there is a series dedicated to the stadium itself:

Yankee Stadium is the place that the Yankees called home while winning 26 World Championships. A wing of Hall of Famers have played in Yankee Stadium: Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Reggie. This Legend played the home half of 2131 consecutive games there:

The more recent versions of the Bronx Bombers have consisted of all-stars at nearly every position. Some are from the system some from trades some were free agents. Jeter, Posoda, Rivera, Clemens, Bernie, O’ Neill, Tino, Pettite, and of Course A-Rod.

This guy even left the enemy and SHAVED to play in Yankee Stadium.

Over the next couple of days I will be putting together a series of entries about the Yankees and Yankee Stadium. I hope you enjoy the posts.