Richard Earl Davis (born September 25, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball from 1977 until 1982, primarily as an outfielder. He also played five seasons in Japan with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1984 until 1988.
Davis was signed as an amateur free agent by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972. After several years in the minors, he was called up to the Brewers in July 1977. He split time in the outfield and as a designated hitter for the next four seasons, being used at DH more often than any other Brewer between 1978 and 1980.
Phillies
During spring training in 1981, the Brewers traded Davis to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Randy Lerch. Davis played some right field and also came off the bench as a pinch hitter 20 times. Though Davis missed most of July and August with an injury, he had 96 at bats and hit .333 with 19 runs batted in. Davis continued in the same role to start the 1982 season, but was soon on the move again.
Wayne Nordhagen and end of Major League Baseball career
In June 1982, Davis would be traded not once, but twice, each time for the same player. At the June 15 trading deadline, the Phillies first traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Wayne Nordhagen. While the Phillies sent Nordhagen on to the Pittsburgh Pirates on the same day in exchange for another outfielder, Bill Robinson, Davis stayed in Toronto for an entire week, appearing in three games and going 2-for-7 at the plate. On June 22, the Blue Jays traded Davis to the Pirates for a player to be named later. On June 25, the Pirates sent a player to the Blue Jays — and it was Nordhagen.
Davis struggled for the rest of the season in Pittsburgh, batting .182 in 77 at bats. Not a very good defensive outfielder, Davis needed to hit well to keep his job, and Pittsburgh wound up releasing Davis in March 1983.
Japanese career
Davis found a second career with the Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Japanese Pacific League, who signed him for the 1984 season. While Davis hit a .310 with 18 home runs in 1984, he broke out in 1985, hitting 40 home runs, driving in 109 runs, and batting .343 in 128 games. During the season, he hit home runs in six straight games to tie a league record. He repeated his success in 1986, batting .337. In 1987, he drove in nine runs in one game on April 28.
Davis also had his share of troubles in Japan. In 1986, he charged the mound after being hit by a pitch by Osamu Higashio and was fined 100,000 yen.[1] Then, in 1988, his apartment was raided by the Japanese police, who found 14 grams of marijuana and related paraphernalia. After three weeks in police custody, he was released by the Buffaloes and sent home to the United States,[2] with Ralph Bryant filling the void left by his departure on the Buffaloes.
References
^Whiting, Robert. "The Pain Of Perfection," Sports Illustrated (May 15, 1989). Archived at JapaneseBaseball.com.
^Whiting, Robert. You Gotta Have Wa (Vintage Departures, 1989), p. 110.
External links
Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
Dick Davis at Baseball Almanac
February 11, 2023
dick, davis, baseball, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, february, 2010, learn, when, remove, this, template, me. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations February 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Richard Earl Davis born September 25 1953 is an American former professional baseball player He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball from 1977 until 1982 primarily as an outfielder He also played five seasons in Japan with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1984 until 1988 Dick DavisOutfielderBorn 1953 09 25 September 25 1953 age 69 Long Beach CaliforniaBatted RightThrew RightProfessional debutMLB July 12 1977 for the Milwaukee BrewersNPB June 6 1984 for the Kintetsu BuffaloesLast appearanceMLB October 1 1982 for the Pittsburgh PiratesNPB June 5 1988 for the Kintetsu BuffaloesMLB statisticsBatting average 265Home runs27Runs batted in141NPB statisticsBatting average 331Home runs117Runs batted in322TeamsMilwaukee Brewers 1977 1980 Philadelphia Phillies 1981 1982 Toronto Blue Jays 1982 Pittsburgh Pirates 1982 Kintetsu Buffaloes 1984 1988 Contents 1 Playing career 1 1 Brewers 1 2 Phillies 1 3 Wayne Nordhagen and end of Major League Baseball career 1 4 Japanese career 2 References 3 External linksPlaying career EditBrewers Edit Davis was signed as an amateur free agent by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972 After several years in the minors he was called up to the Brewers in July 1977 He split time in the outfield and as a designated hitter for the next four seasons being used at DH more often than any other Brewer between 1978 and 1980 Phillies Edit During spring training in 1981 the Brewers traded Davis to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Randy Lerch Davis played some right field and also came off the bench as a pinch hitter 20 times Though Davis missed most of July and August with an injury he had 96 at bats and hit 333 with 19 runs batted in Davis continued in the same role to start the 1982 season but was soon on the move again Wayne Nordhagen and end of Major League Baseball career Edit In June 1982 Davis would be traded not once but twice each time for the same player At the June 15 trading deadline the Phillies first traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Wayne Nordhagen While the Phillies sent Nordhagen on to the Pittsburgh Pirates on the same day in exchange for another outfielder Bill Robinson Davis stayed in Toronto for an entire week appearing in three games and going 2 for 7 at the plate On June 22 the Blue Jays traded Davis to the Pirates for a player to be named later On June 25 the Pirates sent a player to the Blue Jays and it was Nordhagen Davis struggled for the rest of the season in Pittsburgh batting 182 in 77 at bats Not a very good defensive outfielder Davis needed to hit well to keep his job and Pittsburgh wound up releasing Davis in March 1983 Japanese career Edit Davis found a second career with the Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Japanese Pacific League who signed him for the 1984 season While Davis hit a 310 with 18 home runs in 1984 he broke out in 1985 hitting 40 home runs driving in 109 runs and batting 343 in 128 games During the season he hit home runs in six straight games to tie a league record He repeated his success in 1986 batting 337 In 1987 he drove in nine runs in one game on April 28 Davis also had his share of troubles in Japan In 1986 he charged the mound after being hit by a pitch by Osamu Higashio and was fined 100 000 yen 1 Then in 1988 his apartment was raided by the Japanese police who found 14 grams of marijuana and related paraphernalia After three weeks in police custody he was released by the Buffaloes and sent home to the United States 2 with Ralph Bryant filling the void left by his departure on the Buffaloes References Edit Whiting Robert The Pain Of Perfection Sports Illustrated May 15 1989 Archived at JapaneseBaseball com Whiting Robert You Gotta Have Wa Vintage Departures 1989 p 110 External links EditCareer statistics and player information from MLB or ESPN or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Baseball Reference Minors or Retrosheet Dick Davis at Baseball Almanac Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dick Davis baseball amp oldid 1121528163, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
