Throughout the recent 40 plus years, longtime MLB OF Tommy Davis has gotten some respect for a solid career. Some point to the fact that he played for ten teams and a couple of bad teams during the middle (1967 Mets, 1968 White Sox, 1969 Pilots). However, he was one of the best players on the LA Dodgers teams that won the World Series in 1963. Unfortunately, he got just one AB and was not put on the postseason roster in 1959. And his broken ankle suffered early in the 1965 season not only cost him the rest of the Dodgers World Series Championship season, but changed his career forever.
Davis started off his career as an All Star and one of the best young offensive players in the game. The Dodgers played him at 3B, where he struggled mightily. He broke through in 1962, when he won his first of two consecutive NL batting titles. He hit .346, 27, 153, leading the NL in hits (230) and RBI. An MVP season; he lost out in the vote to teammate Maury Wills and the great Willie Mays. Though Mays season (.304, 49, 141, 189 hits, 130 RS) was MVP worthy, Wills won the award strictly because of his stolen bases (104) as he hit .200, 6, 48 with 208 hits and 130 RS. Davis scored 120 runs that season.
It was kind of sad that he was not as dominant after his ankle injury. However, Davis was a consistent hitter, batting over .300 in 1966 and in 1967 when he was on the Mets. He was traded to the Mets in the trade that sent Jim Hickman and Ron Hunt to the Dodgers. The Mets would trade him to the White Sox in the deal that gave the Mets Tommy Agee and Al Weis, two members of the 1969 World Series Championship team. He would hit .268 for the White Sox in 1968 and .266 in a split season with the Seattle Pilots and Houston Astros. His 1970 season was crazy even for the well traveled Davis. He started out in Houston, making a stop with the Oakland Athletics before finishing the season with the Chicago Cubs. For the three teams, he managed to hit .284, 6, 65 in spite of his diminished power. The next season he hit .324 in 79 games back with the Athletics. And he would start the 1973 season back with the Cubs. That did not last long as he finished that season with the Baltimore Orioles.
That was the beginning of his second wind, where he had two solid seasons in 1973 and 1974. The Orioles would win the AL East division both seasons, losing to the Athletics in the ALCS both times. Davis was a regular on both of those teams, hitting .306, 7, 89 in 1973 and .284, 11, 84 in 1974. A down 1975 season of .283, 6, 57 (to Davis' standards) was his last in Baltimore. He finished his career with in 1976 with his fourth split season, this time with the California Angels and Kansas City Royals.
Davis has a solid story to tell about his career. It started when he was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers as he was around for the move to LA. An elite player at the beginning of career, he was around for Dodgers WS wins in 1959, 1963 and 1965 as well as the NL Pennant of 1966. I find it amazing that he went from Brooklyn to LA to New York to Chicago to Seattle to Houston to Oakland to Chicago to Oakland to Chicago to Baltimore to California to Kansas City. And it is still easy to forget about his .294 average with 1052 RBI and 2121 career hits. Not quite a Hall of Famer, but a very good player for a long time.
Davis started off his career as an All Star and one of the best young offensive players in the game. The Dodgers played him at 3B, where he struggled mightily. He broke through in 1962, when he won his first of two consecutive NL batting titles. He hit .346, 27, 153, leading the NL in hits (230) and RBI. An MVP season; he lost out in the vote to teammate Maury Wills and the great Willie Mays. Though Mays season (.304, 49, 141, 189 hits, 130 RS) was MVP worthy, Wills won the award strictly because of his stolen bases (104) as he hit .200, 6, 48 with 208 hits and 130 RS. Davis scored 120 runs that season.
It was kind of sad that he was not as dominant after his ankle injury. However, Davis was a consistent hitter, batting over .300 in 1966 and in 1967 when he was on the Mets. He was traded to the Mets in the trade that sent Jim Hickman and Ron Hunt to the Dodgers. The Mets would trade him to the White Sox in the deal that gave the Mets Tommy Agee and Al Weis, two members of the 1969 World Series Championship team. He would hit .268 for the White Sox in 1968 and .266 in a split season with the Seattle Pilots and Houston Astros. His 1970 season was crazy even for the well traveled Davis. He started out in Houston, making a stop with the Oakland Athletics before finishing the season with the Chicago Cubs. For the three teams, he managed to hit .284, 6, 65 in spite of his diminished power. The next season he hit .324 in 79 games back with the Athletics. And he would start the 1973 season back with the Cubs. That did not last long as he finished that season with the Baltimore Orioles.
That was the beginning of his second wind, where he had two solid seasons in 1973 and 1974. The Orioles would win the AL East division both seasons, losing to the Athletics in the ALCS both times. Davis was a regular on both of those teams, hitting .306, 7, 89 in 1973 and .284, 11, 84 in 1974. A down 1975 season of .283, 6, 57 (to Davis' standards) was his last in Baltimore. He finished his career with in 1976 with his fourth split season, this time with the California Angels and Kansas City Royals.
Davis has a solid story to tell about his career. It started when he was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers as he was around for the move to LA. An elite player at the beginning of career, he was around for Dodgers WS wins in 1959, 1963 and 1965 as well as the NL Pennant of 1966. I find it amazing that he went from Brooklyn to LA to New York to Chicago to Seattle to Houston to Oakland to Chicago to Oakland to Chicago to Baltimore to California to Kansas City. And it is still easy to forget about his .294 average with 1052 RBI and 2121 career hits. Not quite a Hall of Famer, but a very good player for a long time.
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