Tommy Davis, a veteran of 18 MLB seasons, died on Sunday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced. He was 83 years old.
Davis, a well-traveled outfielder, spent eight of those aforementioned 16 seasons with the Dodgers. He later played with the Baltimore Orioles, the Oakland Athletics, the Chicago Cubs, the Houston Astros, the Kansas City Royals, the New York Mets, the California Angels, the Chicago White Sox, and the Seattle Pilots.
Through it all, Davis was a skilled hitter. He finished his career with a .294/.329/.405 slash line (108 OPS+) in addition to 153 home runs and 136 stolen bases. His contributions were worth an estimated 20.5 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball-Reference's calculations. Davis made three All-Star Games and won a pair of National League batting titles. He received Most Valuable Player Award consideration on six occasions.
Davis was also a member of the Dodgers' 1963 World Series winning team. He would appear in the 1966 World Series with Los Angeles as well, though the Dodgers would lose that series to the Baltimore Orioles in four games.
Davis' career, it should be noted, began with a recruitment phone call from none other than Dodgers legend Jackie Robinson, who was in the midst of his final season.
"My mother wondered who was calling," Davis, whose mother was a Dodgers fan, said during a 2019 interview, according to MLB.com. "I pointed to the receiver and mouthed the words, "IT'S JACKIE ROBINSON!" I couldn't believe I was speaking to one of my heroes, although I don't remember doing much talking."
Davis was a member of the 1982 Baseball Writers Association of America Hall of Fame ballot. Alas, he received just 1.2 percent of the share, well short of the threshold required to gain entrance to Cooperstown.
