Johnny Damon, a product of Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, when during his senior year in 1992, was rated the top high school prospect in the country by Baseball America, has gone on to have a storied 17-year career in Major League Baseball -- perhaps a Hall of Fame career.
WINDEMERE -- Johnny Damon, who played on World Series championship teams with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, lives in Windemere,
He has a second home on the beachside of New Smyrna Beach where he enjoys crabbing on the North Causeway.
The 39-year-old potential Hall of Famer with 2,769 career hits in 17 seasons, last played in the Majors in 2012, for the Cleveland Indians, his sixth MLB team.
In addion to Cleveland, New York and Boston, Damon has played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, Oakland A's and Kansas City Royals.
On April 12, 2012, Damon signed a one-year minor league contract with the Indians for $1.25 million and an additional $1.4 million in incentives. But by that that Aug. 3, Damon was designated for assignment, and six days later he was released by the Indians, along with pitchers Derek Lowe and Jeremy Accardo.
Damon was not on a Major League Squad in the 2013 season. Instead, he played for the Thailand National Baseball team and was a member of the squad for the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifiers.
Damon's played on two World Series championship teams -- the Boston Red Sox in 2004, where he had the long hair and beard and earned the nickname, "Caveman," before a clean-cut makeover with the New York Yankees in 2009.
Damon's played on two World Series championship teams -- the Boston Red Sox in 2004, where he had the long hair and beard and earned the knicknsme, "Caveman,",before a clean-cut makeover with the New York Yankees in 2009.
Damon is one of only two modern-day players to win a championship with the Red Sox and Yankees.
The other is infielder/outfielder Eric Hinske of the Atlanta Braves, who played in three consecutive World Series -- winning the championship with the Red Sox in 2007, coming up short with the Rays in 2008, and winning again with the Yankees in 2009, where he and Damon were teammates.
Besides the two rings, Damon is 231 hits shy of 3,000 for his career, the latter a threshold recognized for enshrinement in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
Damon, married for a second time, with two children each from both marriages, is active with the Wounded Warrior Project, which works to raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women.
Damon, a self-described Army brat, was born in Fort Riley, an Army base in Kansas. His mother, Yome, is from Thailand, and his father, Jimmy, is an American of Croatian and Irish descent. They met while his father, then a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army was stationed in Thailand.
The family moved to Orlando when he was of school where Damon went on to star for the varsity baseball team at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, drawing the attention of Major League scouts.
FAST FACTS: Johny Damon career earnings
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ohnny Damon ranks 52nd all-time in career earnings in Major League Baseball with $111,6 million. Here are his annual earnings:
Did You Know?
Johnny Damon Damon hosted WWE's Monday Night Raw on Dec. 21, 2009. Damon also has appeared on MTV Cribs where he gave a tour of his Windemere home.Recap Top 500 Newsmakers:
Windemere home to ex-MLB star Johnny Damon who occasionally stays in New Smyrna Beach to go crabbing
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