Davis chooses not to play for Mexico in WBC.
MESA, Ariz. — The plan, dating back to the middle of last season, was for Khris Davis to play for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.
On Sunday, he said he couldn’t, that the timing just wasn’t right. And it hurt to say it.
Davis’ mother, Sonia, was born in Mexico and moved to the U.S. when she was 4. Davis grew up with an appreciation for his mom’s country of birth and speaks fluent Spanish.
As a concept, Davis very much liked the idea of playing for his mother’s homeland. But in the past 10 days, he’s told the Mexican team they’ll need to go on without him.
“I’m not going to be able to do it due to some timing issues,” Davis said. “I kind of feel overextended personally. You take on a lot; it’s days away. My main focus is this organization. I feel this year I want to get off on the right foot this year.
“It does take me away for a while. I need to be in Arizona, training in the States. I feel horrible about it. I feel terrible. At the same time, I have to be here.”
There was no evident pressure from the A’s for Davis to skip the WBC.
Manager Bob Melvin, while obviously happy to have Davis’ undivided attention, had been planning to work around Davis’ absence and gave his blessing to the venture. Eight other A’s are still going to be in the WBC, including starter Sonny Gray (USA) and relievers John Axford (Canada) and Liam Hendriks (Australia).
“It was probably a tough decision for him to make; I knew he was thinking about it,” Melvin said. “That’s always the balance. Do you leave your team and maybe get out of sync? Or do you stay and try and find your routines and stay consistent with them?
“I had no problem supporting him going. But I do appreciate the fact that he wants to say with his team.”
Davis got off to a horrid start last season, his first with the A’s after being acquired from the Brewers on Feb. 12, 2016. He hit .222 with three homers and nine RBI in his first 24 games through May 1.
Davis hit .222 through May 24, then averaged .257 to go with 37 homers and 73 RBI in his final 107 games, ending with 42 homers and 102 RBI.
Melvin said last year’s slow start can’t be overlooked in analyzing Davis’ 2016 season.
“That’s what really makes his year that much more impressive, when you look at the way he started,” Melvin said. “New league, new team. He got off to a tough start, slumped for a while, then put up those kinds of numbers. He basically did it in a little more than five months.”