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Damon lives up to clubhouse reputation

Tigers reap benefits of having veteran bat second in lineup

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By Jason Beck / MLB.com

03/14/10 7:04 PM ET

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Johnny Damon had barely been a member of the Tigers for two days when he was asked about batting second and what it could mean for his game. He turned the answer into a list of what he could do for the players around him.

When Damon got to cleanup hitter Miguel Cabrera, he used the letters M-V-P. Cabrera was eating nearby, and his eyes widened.

"That's right, MVP, baby," Damon said to Cabrera, looking over with a smile and a nod. "And then you take me to dinner."

That might've been the first sign of how well Damon was going to fit into the Tigers' clubhouse. A few weeks later, nothing has changed that fit.

For as long as it took to get Damon into a Tigers uniform, it feels as if he's been around as long as anybody. He can joke and chat with basically anyone on the team and feel at ease, from staff ace Justin Verlander to outfield prospect Wilkin Ramirez. When he was asked Sunday what he has learned about his new team, he mentioned longtime clubhouse manager Jim Schmakel in the same breath as the coaching staff and with the same high praise. He talks equally well about the players.

"I come in here, and I'm like 45 minutes from home, but these guys make me want to talk baseball with them," Damon said.

In comparison with the atmospheres in New York and Boston that he has had in the past, this has to feel like at least a pretty comfortable place to work. He's serious about his work and takes a ton of pride in what he has been able to accomplish, but it's also clear that he takes pride in being a good teammate and a people person.

"I think my track record shows that I fit into clubhouses well," Damon said. "It's never really been a problem with me now in my 16th year. I can mix and match well. I'm a veteran. I can teach guys. It's great to be in this position that I am. I really felt really good about this place, especially with all the young guys. The fact that they missed the playoffs by a game, I feel like I can make a difference and help the young kids grow, too."

He's living up to his reputation, and no one on the team seems to be the least surprised by it.

"I haven't been around him on a day-in, day-out basis [before]," Brandon Inge said, "but I know that every time I have played against him and every time I've heard anyone talk about him, he's the same guy every day, kind of like [Curtis] Granderson. Didn't have any highs and lows, wasn't extremely happy, wasn't extremely down. Same guy, no matter what. Good, bad, indifferent, he's the same guy. That's what you need is consistency."

His manager values consistency, but he has never been a big believer in the value of chemistry. He'll value the hitting more.

"He's a threat to hit the ball down the left-field line," Jim Leyland said, "and he's a threat to pull the ball into the upper deck. He's a very professional hitter."

On that front, he's fitting in pretty well, too.

Although the common assumption was that the Tigers had signed their next leadoff hitter when they signed Damon, there was a method to Leyland's madness for hitting him second. Part of that was on display Sunday while Austin Jackson wreaked havoc atop the Tigers' batting order.

Damon couldn't advance Jackson after his single in the bottom of the first inning, but Rays starter Jeff Niemann's wild pitch trying to get Damon out allowed Jackson to advance easily ahead of Magglio Ordonez's RBI double. Once Jackson legged out a two-out triple in the fifth, he set up Damon to drive him in with a simple line drive into center field. Jackson tripled and scored again in the seventh, but Damon was out of the game by then.

Damon remembers Jackson being fast, but not that fast. But that's just part of it.

"We think Jackson can be a basestealer. That certainly plays a role," Leyland said. "Does that mean that Johnny gets fastballs? I don't know -- it might. It opens up the hole. It's got a chance to be a nice combination."

As much responsibility as the Tigers are putting on Jackson and fellow rookie Scott Sizemore, Leyland believes it's just as important for the veteran hitters to take some pressure off them with good years. Damon clearly can do that. But he can also make Jackson more dangerous.

Slot in a potentially resurgent Ordonez after them, then Cabrera, and Damon's fit isn't simply in the clubhouse.

"It can be something really special," Damon said. "Austin is a newcomer. He just has to find his bearings and get used to everything it takes to be a Major Leaguer. And I think being around veterans will definitely help him out. ... We have a chance to be real good. And if one guy doesn't get the job done, we can lean on the next guy."

It's already clear that Damon is aiming to make players around him better. It already has the feel of a better team with him.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.