Hall of Fame Worthy? Pt. 19: Johnny Damon

 

I have not done one of these in a long time.  It looks like I talked about Vern Stephens back in 2013.  I have been thinking a lot about some under-the-radar players that could be re-evaluated in light of the Eras Committees softening standards for the Hall.  In the last few years, we have seen Fred McGriff, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Buck O'Neill, Tony Oliva, Ted Simmons, Lee Smith and Harold Baines get in.  Many of those players took years and years to get in.  Baines in particular was a shocking inclusion.  

So, what Red Sox players could get in in the future?  I think guys like Curt Schilling, Dwight Evans and Luis Tiant should be obvious selections soon.  We just need to get them back on the ballot.  But who else?  Maybe Nomar Garciaparra?  Don't laugh.  If Don Mattingly gets in some day, and he finished second on the last ballot, I think Nomar is in line.  Who else?

Well, since I got this card, let's look at Johnny Damon.  Damon had an 18-year career and finished with close to 3,000 hits.  He was certainly a famous player, particularly during the 2004 and 2005 seasons when he was basically the public face of the Boston Red Sox, even writing a book during that time period.  Oddly, Damon does not look as fondly upon his time with the Red Sox as he does with the Yankees.  

He had good numbers, particularly when considering how long he played.  Damon finished with a line of .284/.352/.433, good numbers for a center fielder.  He was not blessed with a lot of power, but he finished with 235 home runs.  He was a leadoff hitter, so his RBI number is a little low (1,139).  He stole 408 bases and had 2,769 hits, 522 doubles and 109 triples.  Despite a poor throwing arm, he was regarded as a good defensive outfielder, though he never won a Gold Glove.  

He did accumulate 56.3 WAR, 18th all-time among center-fielders.  Damon had a higher WAR than 14 Hall of Fame center fielders.  Several of those were Negro League players who obviously had lower scores given the number of games played, insufficient record keeping and limited years to play, but there are some noteworthy names in there as well: Kirby Puckett, Lloyd Waner, Hack Wilson, Earle Combes and Earl Averill.

So there are certainly some promising things to consider, but what about barriers?  Well, let's start with his OPS+, which is a not overly-exciting 104.  That is due to the fact that he did not have a ton of power, despite hitting 20 or more home runs three times, and he was not elite at getting on base.  His career OBP was .352 which is slightly above-average, but you want a leadoff hitter getting on base a lot more.  He only led the league in categories three times in his career, stolen bases and runs in 2000 with the Royals, and triples in 2002 with the Red Sox.  He was also never really considered among the great players in the game.  He was only an All Star twice, 2002 and 2005 with the Red Sox, and only received MVP votes four times.  The highest he finished was 13th in 2005.  

THE VERDICT

Is Johnny Damon Hall of Fame-worthy?  I would have to say no.  At least in light of the standards as they currently are.  He was better than Harold Baines, but I don't think the standards are that low yet, despite his election.  There are better candidates among center-fielders that need to be considered first, including Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltran, Kenny Lofton and Jim Edmonds.  That's quite a few before you can get down to looking at Damon.  So no, I don't think Damon is getting in anytime soon, if ever.

If he were to get in, what cap would he wear?  I mentioned he doesn't look as fondly on his time with the Red Sox as he does with the Yankees, and I think he has mentioned his preference would be a Royals cap.  I think it would be Royals.  He spent more time there and had one of his best seasons there.  I think publicly he is more remembered for his time with Boston though.  This card is a big indicator of that.