Idiot: Beating “The Curse” and Enjoying the Game of Life by Johnny Damon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Being from Pittsburgh, I don’t really have a huge interest in Redsox vs. Yankees. However, being a baseball fan and a stats junkie, I just can’t get enough of the 2004 ALCS where the Red Sox came from three games down to beat the Yankees. Just like the 1980 USA Hockey, the story is told about a great rivalry where a team overcame what looked like insurmountable odds and the championship is often an after thought.
Damon does a fantastic job of educating the reader on what it is like to be a lead off hitter and the importance of taking pitches to wear down the opposing pitcher, often to his own Batting Average’s detriment. I didn’t realize how much emphasis the players put on becoming an all star, and hearing Damon’s frustrations about not getting selected as often as he though he was deserving was interesting. Also getting the back story on Pedro, Shilling, and Manny was always enjoyable to read. Reading Damon’s thoughts on living in a hotel and life on the road, especially as a single guy was funny too. I don’t want to spoil it but his story of getting propositioned by two girls is funny, but his reaction is priceless. I came into this book expecting something average, and I was pleasantly surprised, kudos to Johnny.
The only thing I didn’t like about the book was how hypocritical it made Damon look knowing full well he would eventually go play for the Yankees. But granted the book was written before he jumped ship to the tune of $52 Million over 4 years in 2006. Damon seems like a level headed guy, and hearing how he treats the game like a business seems very practical. It was awesome getting his first hand account of the 2004 ALCS, and he did a good job keeping his rise to stardom entertaining but saved enough for the bulk of the book to be about those 4 fateful days in October.
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