in MLB Articles

Poor wall

Tuesday night was bittersweet for Johnny Damon. His team won a game against the first place Orioles, but the star center fielder for the Boston Red Sox slammed into the outfield wall in face-first while chasing down a Jay Gibbons liner. After momentarily being down on the ground, Damon did get up and desperately wanted to stay in the game. He needed four stitches above his right eye as a result of his collision with the wall. Damon also suffered some swelling in his right knee.

After the trainer told Damon that there was some blood in his right eye, the rugged Red Sox player decided to adhere to the team’s request for him to come out of the contest. Veteran John Olerud took his place in the batting order.

Getting hurt and shrugging it off is nothing new for the man they call “Caveman.” Damon is one of the toughest players in the game and rarely takes a day off. Despite his wide and muscular physique, Damon is also fleet afoot and leads off for Boston. It’s his persistent attitude and never quit mentality that helped lead his team to the Promised Land in 2004.

While there weren’t any concussion symptoms as a result of the incident on Tuesday night, you can be sure that Red Sox officials won’t want him playing on Wednesday. As for whether or not they can get Damon to actually take a day off? That’s another story. The center fielder is batting .351 with 25 RBIs thus far this season.