Damon Jackson Buford (born June 12, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, Texas Rangers,

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

and the Chicago Cubs of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) between 1993 and 2001. Buford batted and threw right-handed.

Career

College career

Buford played at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. His Trojan teammates included Bret Barberie,

Bret Boone Bret Robert Boone (born April 6, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During his career Boone was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He is a third generation professio ...

, Jay Hemond, and

Jeff Cirillo Jeffrey Howard Cirillo (born September 23, 1969) is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball. In a 14-season career, Cirillo was a .296 hitter with 112 home runs and 727 RBI in 1617 games. He was named an All-Star in and . He ...

. In 1989 and 1990, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Notable trades

*In the winter of 1992, he played in the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

with the

Perth Heat The Perth Heat is a baseball team in the current Australian Baseball League and a foundation member of the Australian Baseball League. It is now the most successful team in ABL, winning 15 Claxton Shields. Australian Baseball League (1989–19 ...

. *On July 28, 1995, Buford was traded by the Orioles with

Alex Ochoa Alex Ochoa (; born March 29, 1972) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. Career Ochoa played in part of eight seasons for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Milwau ...

to the Mets for a player to be named later and

Bobby Bonilla Roberto Martin Antonio Bonilla (, born February 23, 1963) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001. Bonilla was one of the Major League's best batters a ...

. The Mets sent Jimmy Williams, a minor leaguer to complete the trade. *On January 25, 1996, he was traded by the Mets to the Rangers for Terrell Lowery. *On November 6, 1997, he was traded by the Rangers with

Jim Leyritz James Joseph Leyritz (born December 27, 1963) is an American former professional baseball catcher and infielder. In his 11-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Leyritz played for the New York Yankees, Anaheim Angels, Texas Rangers, Boston ...

to the Red Sox for Mark Brandenburg,

Bill Haselman William Joseph Haselman (born May 25, 1966) is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 13 seasons between 1990 and 2003. A first-round selection in the 1987 MLB draft, he ...

, and

Aaron Sele Aaron Helmer Sele (born June 25, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is currently a special assignment scout for the Chicago Cubs. Early years His family moved to Poulsbo, Washington, a town on the Kitsap ...

. *On December 12, 1999, he was traded by the Red Sox to the Cubs for

Manny Alexander Manuel De Jesús Alexander (born March 20, 1971) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He has played for the Baltimore Orioles (–, –), New York Mets (), Chicago Cubs (1997–), Boston Red Sox (), Texas Rangers () and San Dieg ...

Personal life

Born in Baltimore, Buford grew up in Los Angeles and attended

Birmingham High School Birmingham Community Charter High School (formerly Birmingham High School) is a charter coeducational high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was ...

. His father

Don Buford Donald Alvin Buford (born February 2, 1937) is an American former professional baseball player scout, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through , most notably as the leadoff hitter for the Baltimore Oriol ...

also played for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

and in the MLB and later worked as hitting coordinator of the Hannibal Cavemen, under manager Jay Hemond, who played at USC while Don was hitting coach.

Sources

External links