Willie Davis

From BR Bullpen

William Henry Davis

Bats Left, Throws Left
Weight 181 lb.

Debut September 8, 1960
Final Game September 30, 1979
Born April 15, 1940 in Mineral Springs, AR USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Willie Davis was a star of the 1960's and 1970's who played 18 years in the major leagues. He had 2,561 hits lifetime in the majors, putting him at # 76 on the all-time list (all rankings are as of 2006). He is also # 67 on the all-time list of base-stealers, with 398. He led the league twice in triples, and is # 67 on the all-time list. He is # 33 on the all-time list for sacrifice flies. He had some power, with nearly 200 home runs in his career, and as a result is # 41 on the all-time list for Power/Speed Number. A three-time Gold Glove winner, he had excellent range in the outfield at a time when ballparks sometimes had bigger center fields than today.

Davis broke in originally for 22 games with the 1960 Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting .318. He was 20 years old, while Tommy Davis and Ron Fairly, also outfielders on the team, were 21.

Davis won the center field job with the 1961 Los Angeles Dodgers after three players had shared it in 1960, Don Demeter, Duke Snider, and Tommy Davis. Tommy Davis would gradually be moved over to left field.

Willie's stats are more impressive when it is remembered that he played in a pitcher's park during the second dead-ball era. He not infrequently batted 3rd in the lineup. In 1964, his 77 RBI were second on the team. In 1968, when he hit .250, the team hit .230. In 1972, his 19 home runs tied for the team lead.

The Dodgers traded Davis to the Montreal Expos in 1973 for relief pitcher Mike Marshall. Davis then bounced around with several teams until he was released by the San Diego Padres in 1977.

Not finished yet, Davis went on to play two years in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons in 1977 (.306, 25 HR) and the Crown Lighter Lions in 1978 (.293, 18 HRs). He then came back to play one final season for the California Angels in 1979.

One Hall of Famer, Enos Slaughter, is on the list of the ten most similar players to Willie Davis. Another player on the list of most similar players is his contemporary Vada Pinson.