Damon shows off sheared look
Having gone for his Yankee clipping, Johnny Damon appeared with his hair trimmed and beard shorn to inherit the job made famous by the Yankee Clipper.
New York’s battles with Boston have been decided by a whisker in recent years, and Damon’s whiskers were much in the news Friday, when he finalized his $52 million, four-year contract to leave the Red Sox and put on the pinstripes for the first time.
His long locks and facial hair were shorn a day earlier at Salon Ishi on Manhattan’s East Side by stylist Chantal Gouy. Damon’s wife, Michelle, looked on along with a Yankees photographer as the 32-year-old complied with the code of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
“First of all, what do you guys think about this?” Damon said, looking at the cameras and stroking his barren chin. “Obviously, keep on snapping away.”
Damon’s hair was slightly over the collar of his green-gray suit, which had light blue stripes. He wore a two-tone blue shirt but did not wear a tie, and his sideburns were perhaps slightly longer than the Boss would have preferred.
Steinbrenner, baseball’s sartorial equivalent of Hammurabi, seemed pleased with his new center fielder.
“He looks like a Yankee, he sounds like a Yankee and he is a Yankee,” Steinbrenner said in a statement.
Damon’s decision to bolt Boston was stunning. Fans loved his hustle, which combined with his Jesus-like looks to spark cult-like devotion. In 2004, he helped the Red Sox win their first World Series title since 1918.
Cardinals add two more pieces
Outfielder Juan Encarnacion and second baseman Junior Spivey agreed to contracts with the St. Louis Cardinals, two more parts of the team’s off-season rebuilding.
Encarnacion received a $15 million, three-year deal, Spivey a $1.2 million, one-year contract. Both agreements are contingent on the players passing physicals.
Encarnacion hit .287 with 16 home runs and 76 RBIs last season for Florida. Spivey split last year between Milwaukee and Washington, batting .232 with seven homers and 24 RBIs.
Clearing the bases
Catcher Einar Diaz returned to Cleveland, agreeing to a minor league contract with the club he spent seven seasons with before being traded in 2002. Diaz, who was St. Louis’ backup catcher last season, will compete in spring training with Josh Bard for the backup job behind Victor Martinez. … Outfielder Endy Chavez and the New York Mets agreed to a $500,000, one-year contract. … Boston agreed to terms with catcher John Flaherty on a one-year contract. The Red Sox needed a backup to Jason Varitek after trading Doug Mirabelli to San Diego for second baseman Mark Loretta on Dec. 7. … Kansas City signed veteran outfielder Reggie Sanders to a two-year, $10 million contract, bringing him to the American League for the first time in his 16-year major league career. The Royals also signed right-hander Joe Mays to a one-year contract. … Utility infielder Jose Vizcaino, who played with Houston last season, returned to San Francisco, where he was the starting shortstop in 1997, by agreeing to a $1.25 million, one-year contract.