Johnny Damon ambled up to home plate, blocking out the steady boos and shrill catcalls from seemingly every one of the 56,000-plus fans packing Yankee Stadium. The date was October 20, 2004, and only one year before, Damon had experienced one of the most crushing disappointments of his life: The Yankees had stormed back from a Game 7 deficit against Damon’s Boston Red Sox and pitcher Pedro Martínez, winning the American League Championship Series with a walk-off home run in the eleventh inning
