I'm pretty sure that Johnny Damon was the inspiration for my first foray into facial hair. I'm not afraid to admit that.
To me, he was more than the most beloved Red Sox centerfielder in recent memory. For a period of about 20 months - beginning in February 2004, when he showed up to spring training sporting a beard and long hair, and ending the following October, when he closed his Red Sox career with an agonizing .231/.286/.308 playoff series against Chicago - he was somewhat of a hero to me.
After all the forgettable Darren Lewises and Dwayne Hoseys and Lee Tinsleys of the previous decade, Boston finally had a centerfielder it could love. My generation had its Fred Lynn, so to speak. For a time, it was refreshing.
That all came crashing down in a matter of two months. From Damon's Tinsley-esque postseason, to his initial weaseling with the Sox' front office through a ridiculously unreasonable Scott Boras, to his eventual signing with the Yankees on Dec. 20, 2005 (a day which shall live in infamy), I went from love to hate faster than any rational person should, and I wasn't alone.
Enter Coco Crisp. In the immediate post-Damon months, a barrage of T-shirts and bumper stickers sent me the insistent message that "Coco's Better," and I fell for it. He never quite delivered the breakout season I was expecting from a guy who arrived at 26 with his prime just ahead of him, but still, I slowly grew to like Coco.
It was a story arc not unlike Damon's - a lovable personality from day one, a two-year period of gradual improvement, and a crash-and-burn postseason that left Boston disillusioned.
Now, with The Future himself - that would be Jacoby Ellsbury - in camp looking better than ever, it appears that Coco Crisp is done in Boston. Ellsbury took the job from Crisp in the ALCS last fall, kept it throughout a stellar World Series and is now prepared to protect it in Fort Myers this month. And with Bobby Kielty signed on to fill the fourth outfielder spot, there's no place for the guy that was the heir to the Damon throne just two years ago.
I feel sorry for him. But make no mistake about it, I'm endorsing Ellsbury wholeheartedly, as all Sox fans should. And this isn't just based on the .353 month he had during his cup of coffee in the Show. Look at his minor-league stats, and you'll see further proof that the kid is for real. His OBPs of .360 in a half-season in Pawtucket and .518 in (small sample size alert) three weeks in Portland, along with his 121 professional steals and only 30 times caught, prove that he's Terry Francona's ideal leadoff hitter for many years into the future. He and Dustin Pedroia will be one of the game's best 1-2 duos for at least a half-decade.
But you probably know all that already. So the main reason I'm writing today is just to say farewell to Coco. Inevitably, he will be traded as soon as Theo Epstein can determine the best offer on his desk, and until that day comes, this is my preemptive goodbye. Here's to hoping he doesn't turn out like Johnny Damon.
It's a cruel world out there. I've always loved Red Sox fans for their loyalty, but usually we're loyal to our own, and it ends there. But I'm optimistic that Coco will eventually turn out not like Damon, but closer to Trot Nixon - respected and missed, not hated.
Because now, if I hate anything, it's this feeling that at this point, being baseball's second evil empire, Red Sox Nation has been drained of its loyalty. Seriously - that's all I really hate.
And okay, maybe Damon a little bit. I just can't help it. He's such a traitor.
Evans Clinchy is a junior majoring in English. He can be reached at Evans.Clinchy@tufts.edu.
