Always a good bat, sometimes great....A trailblazer in the new innovation of the Designated Hitter rule....Davis' story begins long before the 1973 AL innovation....a single at bat in a Dodger uniform establishes Davis’ debut in the 1950’s after being PCL batting champ 1959....Was able to share either Center or Right Field in 1960....replaced an aging Duke Snider or an injured Don Demeter.....Gains playing time in 1961 setting him for his career year of 1962....the normally offensively Dodgers challenged are led by Davis’ NL leading in runs (230), BA (.347), and RBI (153)....highest RBI total in NL for 47 year period....a personal high of 27 homers may have led critics to perceive him as a power hitter....decent follow up in 1963 whereas he successfully defended the NL batting crown....plus gained his only WS ring....descended along with his team in season long funk in 1964 as Dodgers faltered in their WS encore to fall below .500....Injured most of 1965 left his career in question....While his BA resurrected to .313 in 1966 his play is held back, take second fiddle to his understudy and late career hero Lou Johnson....Traded to Mets, which begins a 4 year period of team musical chairs....a bizarre era aka a rolling stone traveling to the White Sox, then Seattle Pilots, Astros, A’s, Cubs...paradoxically he was at or near the top player on each squad....added insult released by the Cubs....rumors has it was an orchestrated to allow a 1971 return to the A’s....that year brought an excellent albeit part time .342 BA and season long residential stability....true to Charles Finley form, was released prior to 1972 season (see Mudcat Grant).... sits out half the year....signed by Cubs essentially a pinch hitter then flipped to Orioles who were desperate for a hot bat after the normally reliable and their normally solid batting corps went limp....After season Davis is at an impasse, he is highly limited in the field and looks to be an exclusive pinch hitter....enter the new provision deus ex machina the DH.....allows Davis to return to batting numbers accustomed a decade earlier....extends full time status by three years....Considered the best DH in 1974.....going with new blood for 1976 Orioles release him....but is able to spend that last season with the Angels and Royals....Known to be cool, calm, and sometimes aloof but delivered under pressure....final line is a formidable .294 batting average based on 2,121 hits....probably should have been MVP in 1962 over teammate Maury Wills.....died on April 3, 2022
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