Johnny Damon's father said the Red Sox made a huge mistake in letting his son go to the New York Yankees and that it could signal the beginning of another Curse in Boston.

"Mark it down: It's going to be another Babe Ruth," Jimmy Damon told The New York Daily News. "They sent Johnny off just like they sent off Babe Ruth. It's going to be another big, big mistake. They made the biggest mistake of their lives."

His hair trimmed and his beard shorn, Johnny Damon put on the pinstripes for the first time Friday after finalizing his $52 million, four-year contract with the New York Yankees.

After spending four seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Damon switched sides in baseball’s hottest rivalry.

He passed his physical Thursday, then went to Salon Ishi on Manhattan’s East Side for a new look. With Damon’s wife, Michelle, looking on along with a Yankees’ photographer, a stylist identified as “Chantal” rid Damon of his facial hair and long locks, putting him in compliance with the code of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Jimmy Damon told the Daily News that he thinks Steinbrenner's rules about hair "are great. As a former Army man, I think it's terrific. When we would come watch (the Red Sox against the Devil Rays) in St. Petersburg, I'd always want to sneak into Johnny's hotel room and cut his hair and beard myself."

YANKEES GET DAMON Yankees introduce newly shorn Damon Damon's father rips Red Sox Celizic: Evil Empire is alive and well Bronx will keep hearing 'Bernie! Bernie!' DeMarco: Boston now 2nd fiddle in East Damon's career statistics VOTE: Good move for Yankees?

Jimmy also said he is not surprised his son jumped ship for the Bronx Bombers.

"I've seen how George Steinbrenner works," the father said. "I knew he wanted Johnny and I felt that he would somehow end up getting him. I just didn't think the Red Sox would let him go. He's worth so much to them, not just on the field but in everything they do. I really thought they'd come up with whatever it took to keep him."

And Jimmy has a prediction for next season.

Ask the baseball expert: Tony DeMarco Sox, Yankees face obstacles as rivalry renews E-mail your questions

"The Yankees are going to win it with Johnny in there," he told the Daily News. "I think Boston will always remember the day they let him leave."

The Red Sox were only offering $40 million over four years, the Daily News said.