9 to Know: Johnny Damon, future Hall-of-Famer

by Bill Chuck on February 1, 2012

As we await finding out where Johnny Damon will end up this season, my feeling is that five years or so after he retires, Damon will end up in Cooperstown. Here are nine reasons why I think so.

1. Johnny Damon has 4146 total bases and 231 homers making him one of 15 players all-time with over 4100 total bases and less than 250 homers. Of the 15, 13 are in the Hall, Pete Rose and Derek Jeter (4430 TB – 240 homers) are not.

2. Only two players in baseball history have over 400 steals, 100 triples, and 200 homers: Paul Molitor (504 steals, 114 triples, and 234 homers) and Damon (404 steals, 107 triples, and 231 homers).

3. Damon has 516 doubles (43rd all-time), one more than Joe Cronin and seven fewer than Willie Mays, eight fewer than Ken Griffey Jr., and nine fewer than Ted Williams.  Damon now has the 17th most homers (231) all-time for batters with at least 100 triples (he has 107). The leader may surprise you: Babe Ruth had 136 triples to go along with his 714 homers.

4. Over the last 10 seasons only three players, who qualified have for the batting title, have struck out less than 100 times each season: Ichiro Suzuki, Albert Pujols, and Johnny Damon.

5. Since 1996, Johnny Damon is the only player with 15 consecutive seasons of 140 or more games played; Derek Jeter played only 119 in 2003. Since 2001, Ichiro Suzuki, Alfonso Soriano, Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, and Bobby Abreu are the only players with over 500 plate appearances each season.

6. Russell Martin has grounded into 93 double plays in 3189 plate appearances. Johnny Damon has grounded into 93 in 10,693 PA.

7. Only five players over 35 stole at least 10 bases in 2011: Ichiro (40 steals), Bobby Abreu (21), Johnny Damon (19), Derek Jeter (16), and Jamey Carroll, each the thieves were 37 years old. BTW: There were only eight players in 2011 who had at least 15 homers, 25 doubles, five triples, 15 steals, and 70 RBI and Damon was one of them:

Rk Player BA 3B 2B HR SB RBI
1 Ryan Braun .332 6 38 33 33 111
2 Jacoby Ellsbury .321 5 46 32 39 105
3 Melky Cabrera .305 5 44 18 20 87
4 Justin Upton .289 5 39 31 21 88
5 Shane Victorino .279 16 27 17 19 61
6 Ben Zobrist .269 6 46 20 19 91
7 Curtis Granderson .262 10 26 41 25 119
8 Johnny Damon .261 7 29 16 19 73
9 Andrew McCutchen .259 5 34 23 23 89
10 Danny Espinosa .236 5 29 21 17 66
11 Kelly Johnson .222 7 27 21 16 58

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used

8. Damon has 231 homers, 2723 hits, 516 doubles, and 1643 runs scored. Only 13 Hall of Famers have had numbers that include 2700+ hits, 200+ homers, 500+ doubles, and have scored 1600+ runs:

Rk Player HR H 2B R
1 Hank Aaron 755 3771 624 2174
2 Babe Ruth 714 2873 506 2174
3 Willie Mays 660 3283 523 2062
4 Frank Robinson 586 2943 528 1829
5 Eddie Murray 504 3255 560 1627
6 Lou Gehrig 493 2721 534 1888
7 Stan Musial 475 3630 725 1949
8 Dave Winfield 465 3110 540 1669
9 Carl Yastrzemski 452 3419 646 1816
10 Cal Ripken 431 3184 603 1647
11 Rickey Henderson 297 3055 510 2295
12 Robin Yount 251 3142 583 1632
13 Paul Molitor 234 3319 605 1782

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used

9. Johnny Damon is the only active player with 100+ triples, 200+ homers, 500+ doubles, and 1000+ RBI, and only one of a dozen players all-time:

Rk Player HR 3B 2B RBI
1 Babe Ruth 714 136 506 2213
2 Willie Mays 660 140 523 1903
3 Lou Gehrig 493 163 534 1995
4 Stan Musial 475 177 725 1951
5 George Brett 317 137 665 1596
6 Al Simmons 307 149 539 1827
7 Rogers Hornsby 301 169 541 1584
8 Robin Yount 251 126 583 1406
9 Goose Goslin 248 173 500 1609
10 Paul Molitor 234 114 605 1307
11 Johnny Damon 231 107 516 1120
12 Joe Medwick 205 113 540 1383
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used Generated 1/31/2012.

And… Damon established The Johnny Damon Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)3, to raise and donate funds to charitable organizations. The Foundation assists local and national programs that provide leadership and growth opportunities for disadvantaged children at risk. Johnny Damon is a national spokesman for the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), which provides programs and services designated to ease the burdens of severely injured service men and women and their families. In addition to WWP, the Johnny Damon Foundation has relationships with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Edgewood Boys Ranch and Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. Learn more at: http://johnnydamon.com/

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