With a shave and a haircut, Johnny Damon approached a lectern at Yankee Stadium on Friday and rubbed his naked chin for the cameras. If there were any remnants from his years with the Boston Red Sox, including his once-flowing locks, they were hard to find.
Damon wore a wedding ring, but not his 2004 World Series ring. He wore a No. 18 jersey, but now it had pinstripes.
"He looks like a Yankee, he sounds like a Yankee and he is a Yankee," George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' principal owner, said in a statement issued by his publicist, Howard Rubenstein. "Welcome."
So went Damon's introduction as the new center fielder, and his continuing transformation into a Yankees pinup from a Red Sox icon.
Three days after he and the Yankees agreed on a four-year, US$52 million contract, and a day after a stylist lopped off much of his hair, Damon said his individuality would remain as he began the newest phase of his career.
"I have to be Johnny Damon," he said. "The fun-loving, easygoing short-haired guy."
Hundreds of Yankees fans stood outside the stadium offices Friday, waiting to catch a glimpse of Damon while he toured the building he knows so well. Damon spent four seasons in Boston trying to ruin the Yankees' autumns.
In Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium, Damon hit two home runs, including a grand slam, on the way to the Red Sox' winning their first World Series since 1918.
He seemed destined to live out his playing days in Boston, where his long hair and his derring-do were omnipresent.
But Damon said his first inkling that things might end differently came after the Chicago White Sox eliminated Boston in their divisional series in October.
The Red Sox offered Damon, who was a free agent, a three-year, US$27 million deal, which was less than he expected.
"I didn't think the lack of interest from them would be there," said Damon, 32. Scott Boras, Damon's agent, said: "That offer put him in a position that was difficult. He was surprised. You can't find center fielders and you can't find leadoff hitters, and he creates a synergy with both qualities. Most players are either one or the other. To find a player with both is a rare breed."
The Red Sox later increased their offer to Damon to US$40 million over four years, but by then the Yankees, and others, were contenders to sign him.
Damon said he had already liked the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium, but he also appreciated the recruiting by General Manager Brian Cashman, manager Joe Torre and players like Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada.
"Alex called me and said `We're going to accomplish so many milestones together,'" Damon said. "When Brian Cashman comes after you and says, `You're a guy who can make this happen,' he did all of the right things. New York showed me exactly what they wanted. That's why I'm here."
Torre, who was in Florence, Italy, carrying the torch for the Turin Olympics last week, was among the last of the Yankees to learn that Damon was the new leadoff hitter. Torre still did not know when he landed at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday, a day after Damon agreed to the deal.
"The first customs officer said, `You've got your center fielder,"' Torre said. "I believed him. He sounded like it wasn't something he was guessing about, but I called Cashman right away."
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