Here's Johnny

Damon tips his cap to the Tropicana
faithful after his 500th double.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder/designated hitter Johnny Damon entered elite company Saturday with his first inning double in their Interleague game against the Florida Marlins. It was the 500th two-bagger of his career adding to his already impressive resume.

Damon now joins a small group of Hall of Famers to record 2,500 hits, 100 triples, 200 home runs, and 500 doubles during their careers. The two-time All-Star is the eleventh member to swing his way into this exclusive club joining the likes of Al Simmons, Babe Ruth, George Brett, Goose Goslin, Lou Gehrig, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, and Willie Mays.

    Five of these now eleven players has recorded 3,000 hits throughout their careers. While Damon is not one of those five he has an outside chance of reaching a milestone only twenty-seven players in major league history have totaled with him currently at 2,646.

    There's a catch. Damon will turn thirty-eight in November and might not have too many years left in his legs. One of the most durable players in the last decade will need to average 120 hits over the next three seasons to accomplish that feat.

    Damon is one of only four major league players to play in at least 140 games each of the last ten seasons. Albert Pujols, Bobby Abreu, and Ichiro Suzuki are the other three.

    One mark none of the other ten players on that list have accomplished, Damon will. He is currently 8 steals shy of 400 for his career and when he swipes his 400th bag, he will become the first on the list to do so. Mays is the next closest coming up 62 short with 338 career stolen bases.

    With these numbers Damon is making a bid for his day in Cooperstown. Most see Damon as a complier rather than a Hall of Famer. He has never finished in the top ten of the MVP voting or been the best player on any team he has been in.

Damon's '04 grand slam might be the single
biggest hit in Red Sox history.

However, Damon has been one of the most clutch postseason performers in recent memory. While he was a productive postseason player during his time with the Oakland Athletics many will remember Damon has the "caveman" on the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

    In Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS he propelled the Sox to their first World Series appearance since 1986 with two home runs including a grand slam against the hated New York Yankees. That same postseason he led off the clinching Game 4 of the World Series to ignite their sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, ending the teams 86-year curse.

    Five years later as a member of the Yankees, he found himself in another World Series. Damon made the Series-defining moment when he stole second and third on one pitch in their Game 4 victory over the then-defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. He and then-teammate Eric Hinske became only the ninth and tenth players to win a World Series with the Yankees and Red Sox.

    In the twelve postseason series he has played in, Damon as accumulated .279 average with 9 home runs and 30 runs batted in. While it's unclear if Damon is a Hall of Famer, he is putting together quite a case.

    As he moves closer to 3,000 the seventeen-year veteran might be preparing a speech for that Summer day in July in the not so distance future.