Chili Davis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chili Davis |
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Davis in 1983
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| Outfielder / Designated hitter | |||
| Born: January 17, 1960 Kingston, Jamaica |
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| debut | |||
| April 10, 1981, for the San Francisco Giants | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| October 3, 1999, for the New York Yankees | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .274 | ||
| Hits | 2,380 | ||
| Home runs | 350 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,372 | ||
| Teams | |||
As player
As coach
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Charles Theodore "Chili" Davis (born January 17, 1960) is a former professional baseball player from Jamaica and America. He played as an outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). His career lasted from 1981 to 1999.
Chili Davis played for several teams. These included the San Francisco Giants, California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, and New York Yankees. After playing, he became a coach. He coached for the Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Davis was a switch-hitter, meaning he could bat from both sides of the plate. He threw the ball right-handed. He was the first player born in Jamaica to play in an MLB game.
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Early Life and Baseball Beginnings
Chili Davis was born in Kingston, Jamaica. When he was 10 years old, he moved to Los Angeles with his three brothers and sister. He went to Fremont High School and then Susan Miller Dorsey High School. In high school, he played catcher and first base. Before he started playing in the minor leagues, he only hit right-handed.
Playing Career Highlights
Chili Davis had a long 19-year career in baseball. He played in 2,436 MLB games. He had a batting average of .274. He hit 350 home runs and had 1,372 RBI.
Davis started his career as an outfielder with the Giants. In his first full season in 1982, he hit 19 home runs. He also had 76 RBI and 24 stolen bases. In 1984, he had a great batting average of .315. He was chosen for the All-Star team twice with the Giants. These were in 1984 and 1986. After seven seasons, he joined the Angels.
With the California Angels, Davis continued to hit well. He hit 21 home runs in 1988 and 22 home runs in 1989. In 1990, he started having back problems. Because of this, he moved from playing in the outfield to being a designated hitter (DH). A DH only bats and does not play defense. He stayed a DH for the rest of his career.
Davis then joined the Minnesota Twins. His ability to switch-hit was very helpful. The Twins already had strong right-handed and left-handed hitters. In 1991, he led the Twins in home runs (29) and RBI (93). He also had many doubles and walks. His strong hitting helped the Twins win their division. In the 1991 World Series, Davis hit two home runs. The Twins won the World Series against the Atlanta Braves in seven games.
After a year, Davis returned to the Angels. He had four more strong years there. In 1993, he hit 27 home runs and had a career-high 112 RBI. In 1994, he hit .311 and was an All-Star again. He continued to hit well in 1995 and 1996.
In 1997, he played for the Kansas City Royals. He hit a career-high 30 home runs that year. Davis finished his career with the New York Yankees. He won two more World Series rings with them in 1998 and 1999. In his final season in 1999, he hit 19 home runs and had 78 RBI.
Chili Davis ended his career with 350 home runs. This is one of the highest totals for a switch-hitter. He also hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game eleven times. This was a record he shared for a while.
Memorable Games
- On August 2, 1984, Chili Davis had a perfect game at the plate. He got four hits in four tries for the San Francisco Giants. He also hit a triple and drove in two runs. The Giants won 5–2 against the Cincinnati Reds.
- On September 15, 1987, Davis had another amazing game. He got four hits, including two home runs, and four RBI. The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres 13–3.
Coaching Career
After he stopped playing, Chili Davis became a hitting coach. He coached the Australia national baseball team for three years. In 2010, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as a hitting coach for their training league.
In 2011, he became the hitting coach for the Pawtucket Red Sox. Later that year, he was hired by the Oakland Athletics as their hitting coach. He coached for the Athletics until 2014. In October 2014, he moved to the Boston Red Sox as their hitting coach. He stayed with them until 2017.
In 2017, he became the hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs. He left the Cubs in October 2018. In November 2018, he was named the hitting coach for the New York Mets. He coached the Mets until May 2021.
Personal Life
Chili Davis lives with his wife, Ann, and their three sons in Arizona. He also has family in California. His sister, Olive, once organized a fundraising event. At this event, Davis pitched to help raise money for education.
His nickname "Chili" came from his childhood. His father gave him a very bad haircut. Other kids teased him, saying it looked like someone had put a "chili bowl" on his head and cut around it. The nickname stuck with him.
Fun Facts About Chili Davis
Chili Davis spends his time with his wife, Ann, and their three sons in Arizona. He also has family in California. His sister, Olive, once organized a fundraising event. At this event, Chili pitched to help raise money for education.
His nickname "Chili" came from his childhood. His father gave him a very bad haircut. Other kids teased him, saying it looked like someone had put a "chili bowl" on his head and cut around it. The funny nickname stuck!
See also
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
