This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat publication. To learn the total publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it usually in your inbox.
The sight of a clean-shaven Alex Verdugo taking batting observe swings with a brilliant pink bat on the again fields of the Yankees’ spring complicated proved a bit jarring this week, nearly showing misplaced inside his hitting group of Oswaldo Cabrera, DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe.
However that was certainly Verdugo, having shed the trademark facial scruff that seemingly got here factory-issued along with his Crimson Sox uniform. As somebody who made the same transition years in the past, Johnny Damon has a bit of recommendation for Verdugo: simply be your self.
“I used to be a fan favourite up in Boston. Coming to New York, it’s robust, however I’m certain he’ll be nice,” Damon stated. “Simply don’t take note of something. I all the time like to inform folks, ‘I’ve been liked and hated in all places I’ve been.’ I’m doing OK proper now. It took years, however I’m doing OK now.”
Verdugo, who turns 28 in Might, is coming off a 2023 season during which he batted .264/.324/.421 (100 OPS+) with 37 doubles, 5 triples, 13 dwelling runs and 54 RBIs in 142 video games.
Verdugo stated that after initially being “mad” that the Crimson Sox had traded him to a rival, he quickly acknowledged the chance that will await in New York.
“Having [Aaron] Decide, [Giancarlo] Stanton, Gerrit [Cole] and Rizzo attain out, welcoming me to the workforce, it acquired me excited,” Verdugo stated.
Damon seems again fondly on his transfer from Boston to New York, having signed with the Yankees as a free agent earlier than the 2006 season. A self-described “caveman” and “fool” throughout his years with Boston, Damon appeared an odd match given the Yanks’ conventional and buttoned-up attitudes, however he shortly discovered it to be a nice match.
“The toughest half was the distinction of your day-to-day schedule,” Damon stated. “In Boston, I used to be so used to bringing my children to the ballpark and hanging out, and it was much more family-oriented. My first two years in New York, not a lot.
“However when [manager Joe] Girardi acquired right here, he made it unbelievable for us, saying that profitable or shedding a baseball sport shouldn’t dictate the way you deal with your children. So children had been allowed within the locker room, and I used to be very completely satisfied about it.”
The spotlight of Damon’s Bronx tenure was the 2009 World Sequence, throughout which his daring Sport 4 double steal helped propel the Yanks previous the Phillies.
“We needed to win that yr,” Damon stated. “If we didn’t win that yr, it was my final yr there, so making that transfer from Boston wouldn’t have been the best one. So I’m glad we acquired these massive free brokers [CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett] to assist us.”
