MLB: Top 30 leadoff hitters of all-time
Johnny Damon began his career as a leadoff hitter with the 1995 Kansas City Royals as a 21-year old late-season call-up, but spent most of the next two seasons floating around the bottom half of the order.
In 1998, Damon was penciled in atop the lineup card and responded with a breakout campaign that included 30 doubles, 10 triples, 18 home runs, 66 RBI and 26 stolen bases – all career-highs at the time – and a .277/.339/.439 slash.
Damon spent most of his final three seasons in KC at the top of the order, and had a career year in 2000 with a .327/.382/.495 slash, 214 hits, 42 doubles, 10 triples, 16 homers and 88 RBI. He also led the AL with 136 runs scored and 46 stolen bases and finished in the top 20 in the MVP voting.
After an off-season trade to the Oakland A’s, Damon made it to the playoffs for the first time in 2001, though he would emerge as a postseason star a few years later with the Boston Red Sox.
Damon signed with the Red Sox as a free agent prior to the 2002 season and put together the best four-year stint of his career as the primary leadoff hitter in Boston. He hit .300 twice, made two AL All-Star teams, and most importantly helped the Sox end an 86-year World Series title drought when the club won the ring in 2004. In 2009, he won his second World Series as a member of the New York Yankees.
When he retired in 2012, Damon amassed 2,769 hits, scored 1,668 runs and stole 408 bases across 18 seasons in the big leagues and compiled a .284/.352/.433 slash.
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