Having swapped hats in sports' fiercest rivalry, Johnny Damon's advice to Jacoby Ellsbury is very simple.
"The biggest thing I can tell him is to keep playing hard,'' Damon said of Ellsbury, whose seven-year, $153 million deal with the Yankees will become official when the results of Wednesday's physical are received and the final language is agreed upon. The Post has learned Ellsbury underwent an MRI on his hip Wednesday at Columbia-Presbyterian.
"That's what New York embraces. I played it hard and I played it right and I had people on my side," Damon added. "You still have to play well, but playing hard in the big picture makes sense.''
Jacoby Ellsbury has spent seven seasons with the Red Sox.Photo: Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Damon left the Red Sox following the 2005 season, signed a four-year deal with the Yankees worth $52 million and helped them win the World Series in 2009. He departed as a free agent after the Yankees beat the Phillies.
Ellsbury was an integral part of the Red Sox 2013 World Series winning club and was a member of the 2007 world champions when he appeared in 33 regular-season games for the Red Sox and another 11 in the postseason.
Damon said he has chatted with Ellsbury a few times, but watching the process unfold got the feeling it was similar to his exit from New England's living room.
"He was ready for the move because Boston wasn't going to give him the years,'' Damon said. "I felt they didn't believe I had [an offer for] four years and I wasn't offered a contract [by Boston] until I agreed with the Yankees.''
Having played six-plus seasons in Boston and appeared in 38 postseason games, Damon doesn't believe Ellsbury will have difficulty adjusting to the glare of being a Yankee.
"Once you play in Boston, the only greater place to play is New York,'' Damon said. "The fans are passionate about winning and this signing put New York back on the map.''
It also leaves a hole in the middle of the Red Sox outfield.
"They have to find somebody,'' Damon said. "If I didn't go to New York, we may never have heard of Jacoby Ellsbury — they might have traded him."
— Additional reporting by John DeMarzo
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