Johnny Damon

[white chocolate]

I was reading the article about which white ballplayers should be voted into the All-Star game. While some of the choices were logical and others totally illogical (Bill Mueller over ARod?, c'mon!) One choice jumped off the page for me though:


"Johnny Damon is currently fourth but only by about 50,000, and could finish within the top three which would give a white player a starting outfield position on the AL All-Star team for the first time since Mickey Mantle (at least it seems that way). Damon is off to a great start this year and last year's post-season hero should be recognized..."


I made a quick inquiry on Johnny Damon's official website and came up with this:


[url]http://www.johnnydamon.net/modules.php?name=damon&file=a bout[/url]


for those of you too lazy to check out the article it appears that johnny damon has a whitefather and a THAI mother. So seeing that this website is accepting of mixed race ball players, i was shocked to find out that you didnt list another great mixed race ballplayer, Derek Jeter in your All-Star rankings. He's as white as Johnny Damon, so shouldnt he be acknowledged? How about anything favorable about another great athlete with a thai mother, Tiger Woods? Nothing much on him either. hmm...


I thought that I should just point that out to you all. Good Day!

 

[JB Cash]

Thanks for pointing that out "white chocolate".

Since I wrote the article let me respond. This site (and myself) are well aware that Damon is half Thai. We have discussed it in various threads. I would like to point out that the point of this site is to celebrate the accomplishments of white athletes.

Yes sometimes "white athletes" are of mixed heritage. When that is the case what I do is try to determine if people believe that the athlete is white or predominantly so. If yes, then the success or failure of that player is credited to his white heritage. If the player is considered other such as black, then the success is credited to his African heritage.

In your examples you cited Tiger Woods, who is I believe half Asian and half black, at any rate he is considered black or nearly so by practically everybody. There is no reason to celebrate him at all on this site. For Derek Jeter he is, I believe, half black/half white. Nearly everbody, in my opinion, thinks of his success as due to his black heritage. Once again not a reason to celebrate him here.

Another example is Nick Goings, running back for the Carolina Panthers. He is also some mix of white and black. But most people consider him white, even to the point of disparaging him because of it. So therefore I would consider him white for the purposes of this site.

Another standard one could use is to consider "white" any player that would have been allowed to play Major League baseball pre-1947. Johnny Damon would, Derek Jeter would not.

It is not an exact science but nothing really is.

As to your comment that: "some of the choices were logical and others totally illogical (Bill Mueller over ARod?, c'mon!)" I believe if you read the article thouroughly you will see that I qualified the choices on the basis of casting votes for OUR people, not just on merit. You know, the same standard that elects Ken Griffey Jr. and Yao Ming every year. Pure racial solidarity.

And thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. Edited by: JB Cash

 

[foreverfree]

Another example is Nick Goings, running back for the Carolina Panthers. He is also some mix of white and black. But most people consider him white, even to the point of disparaging him because of it. So therefore I would consider him white for the purposes of this site.

Goings looks black to me in that tiny picture on the players page on NFL.com. Can anyone come up with a larger picture of a helmetless Goings?

John

 

[Don Wassall]

Goings is probably a quarter black, possibly half.

 

[IceSpeed2]

Technically, everyone has a slightly different
race. Everyone has a different combination of ancestors that took
a different path to get where they are. The major determining
factor as far as race is concerned is one's identification not with
their individual ancestors, but with a previous or current
civilization/tribe. If someone is black, but identified with
France a lot maybe they could be considered French, if they lived in France and learned the language and all. This is very
extreme due to skin color differences, but similiar things have
happened. In Iran, scientists think central asian people
identified with the Aryan race and became Aryan. They
intermarried and everything.

As far as genetics and race are concerned, Clyde
Hart ended an interview with Sports illustrated when he said there are
a lot of whites with fast twitch muscle fibers.

Since race is really just a category of people usually based on region,
one can choose their race or join it in my opinion. Johnny Damon
is definitely white when it comes to baseball, being it is a result of
white heritage and American heritage. Goings is white if he
identifies with a European race. In America, if he does things
that are considered white things to do he is white.


Edited by: IceSpeed2

 

[IceSpeed2]

Damon still has an average just under .340 I believe so he is certainly
an MVP candidate with his glove and speed. He also is so valuable
because unlike most lefties, Damon hits southpaws well. A manager
does not have to pinch hit for Damon much when a lefty specialist comes
from the bullpen. He is so difficult to strike out too.

 

[Bear-Arms]

Do they call the Red Sox the carmines? Edited by: Bear-Arms

 

[IceSpeed2]

I have heard Varitek get called the carmine.
As for the rest of the team, I think everyone simply calls them" the
idiots" humorously.

 

[Bear-Arms]

I am not showing up for a week if the BoSox sweep my White Sox..

 

[Realgeorge]

Johnny is now a rich Yanqui


Wonder how he will stand up to the glare of the New York Daily News and the New York Post. Big Apple is an unforgiving place for new Centerfielders

 

[jaxvid]

Sad to see him go to the Yankees. He kinda personified the Red Sox.

 

[Bear-Arms]

Here are Damons possible replacements:

Boston Globe: "The team is not saying, but any of the following players could be on a potential Sox list under the heading 'Possible Trade Targets': Seattle's Jeremy Reed, Cleveland's Coco Crisp, the Cubs' Corey Patterson, San Diego's Dave Roberts, Tampa Bay's Joey Gathright, Minnesota's Torii Hunter, Philadelphia's Jason Michaels, and Texas's Brad Wilkerson."
Edited by: Bear-Arms

 

[Bart]

Red Sox fans have got to feel like Damon gave em a lump of coal for Christmas.