Blue Rocks Legend Johnny Damon Competing on Celebrity Apprentice

Former Wilmington Blue Rock Johnny Damon was far too talented on the baseball diamond to ever hear the words, 'you're fired!' Now the slugger is hoping that translates to television's simulated version of the business world. Damon is among 16 notable names competing on this season of Celebrity Apprentice, which debuted on NBC this week.

If you're not familiar with the show, it is essentially celebrities competing in simulated entrepreneurial competitions designed and refereed by mogul Donald Trump. The contestants work as teams on projects, with one side deemed a winner and the other a loser. A contestant from the losing team is then fired--Trump's trademark way of eliminating contestants from the competition--at the end of each episode. 

Damon's fellow competitors are Vivica A. Fox, Geraldo Rivera, Shawn Johnson, Leeza Gibbons, Lorenzo Lamas, Kevin Jonas, Jamie Anderson, Kate Gosselin, Ian Ziering, Terrell Owens, Gilbert Gottfried, Sig Hansen, Brandi Glanville, and Kenya Moore. Cosby Show star Keisha Knight Pulliam was fired in the season debut.

Damon played 118 games for the Rocks in 1994. He batted .316 with a .399 on-base percentage, six homers and 75 RBIs. The outfielder also added 25 doubles and 13 triples that season, as he helped lead Wilmington to its first ever Mills Cup Championship. He returned to Frawley Stadium in the summer of 2014 to have his number retired by the organization. 

"Anytime a team retires your number it is obviously a terrific honor," Damon said before the ceremony which honored him in June. "I understand the only other people to hold that distinction are two Hall of Famers [Robin Roberts and Jackie Robinson], the team's founder [Matt Minker] and Mike Sweeney, who is as good a man as you'll find in the game. I am incredibly grateful to join a group that includes those remarkable individuals."

The Kansas native made his Major League debut with Kansas City a year after his stint in Wilmington, beginning a tenure that would include stops with the Royals, A's, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Rays and Indians. Damon is most famous for helping lead Boston to that franchise's first world championship in 86 years in 2004. He also played a pivotal role in the Yankees' 2009 World Series triumph. He finished his playing career with a .284 batting average, 235 homers and a .352 on-base percentage.

Now he is hoping to post similarly successful numbers when it comes to margins and revenue streams. Although, if what Trump told the New York Post this week is true, he will have to bring some attitude to the reality television table as well.

"We've got a really good cast this season and they have terrific chemistry," Trump said via the Post. "They also have unbelievably negative chemistry, which makes for good TV. This group is the meanest, by far."

The mix is working so far. The debut on Sunday drew seven million viewers according to the Post and show No. 2 (which aired one day later) drew 6.4 million more sets of eyeballs. 

Root Damon on every Monday at 8 p.m. on NBC.