As he was getting cheered in the first inning last night, Johnny Damon made a gesture to the Yankees dugout.
“Just mad love for them,” Damon said. “[Joe] Girardi and Kevin Long, [Tony] Pena, Rob Thomson, Mick [Kelleher]. All those people meant so much to me and my family over the years.”
In Damon’s first return to Yankee Stadium since leaving the team after last season, the current Tiger was serenaded with cheers when he came to bat in the first inning. It prompted him to wave his helmet to the crowd, blow a kiss to his wife and make his respectful gesture — Damon tapped his chest — to his old dugout mates.
It was a contrast to Damon’s return to Fenway Park after joining the Yanks in 2006, when he was booed by Red Sox Nation. Still, there was no video or scoreboard tribute last night for Damon, who went 0-for-3 with two walks in the Yankees’ 3-1 loss, then wore his Yankees ring after the game.”I know the Yankees mean the world to me,” he said. “I think when I left Boston there was a lot of hard feelings, a lot of mistrust and all that stuff. But I think with the Yankees, it was pretty straightforward and I knew when I talked to Hal [Steinbrenner] that it was a done thing and that’s all you want as a player, is the truth.”I’m always going to love this place.”
In the offseason, Damon’s camp and the Yankees endured a bitter divorce, and Damon — who signed for one year and $8 million with Detroit — said he believes he and the Yanks disagreed on his value. But he insisted he held no grudge.
“If we don’t make [the playoffs], obviously I’m going to hope those guys do very well,” he said. “There’s no hard feelings.”
