Davis brings power, personality to team
Outfielder, who grew up in baseball family, credits work with mom for his early success
MESA, Ariz. — New A’s left fielder Khris Davis is the son of a longtime big- league scout, and he grew up around the game.
His mom, Sonia, was the one who taught him to hit, though.
“When Khristopher was little, his mother was the one who put a bat in his hand, threw pinto beans for him to hit with a broomstick,” said Khris Davis’ father, onetime San Francisco State assistant coach Rodney Davis. “It’s a family commitment.”
“My dad has the baseball background, but behind the scenes, my mom was the one pitching beans to me in the street when my dad was on the road,” Davis said. “And she would shag for me at the park; I’d toss it up and hit it, and she’d run it down for me. My mom is the one I took more seriously. If my dad gave me advice, I’d brush it off. But if my mom said, ‘ Hey you’re not playing hard enough out there,’ I’d respect it more.”
Davis still whacks blackeyed peas, beans, popcorn seeds, “anything small,” with a broomstick during the win
ter to keep his hand- eye coordination sharp.
Whatever works: Davis belted 27 homers in 392 atbats last year, with 21 of his homers coming after the All- Star break, second most in the National League behind Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies.
“His second half of the season was pretty special,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “Khris hurt his knee in the middle of May and then he was in and out of the lineup, but those last two months ... that was something. That’s Khris’ real strength, and it’s not going to go away.”
Davis said he didn’t really start to hit homers regularly until he was at Cal State Fullerton, and even then, he had to learn how to be a power hitter. At 5- foot- 10, 192 pounds, Davis is shorter and slighter than a prototypical slugger, and unlike many heavy hitters, who often say their power comes from their lower half, Davis said he believes his power comes from his hands.
“I’ve seen Khris just flick his wrists and hit it 400 feet,” Davis’ friend and former Milwaukee teammate Scooter Gennett said. “He has the kind of power that when you have to hit batting practice after him, it’s kind of embarrassing.”
The A’s have an internal study that shows that all of Davis’ homers last year, home and road, also would have left the Coliseum, which is not particularly hitterfriendly, and an overlay of the Coliseum’s dimensions onto Davis’ spray chart confirms that.
“It doesn’t matter where he plays,” Gennett said. “The ball is going to go out.”
A National League scout agreed. “He doesn’t hit any cheapies,” the scout said.
Even if the park is a little bigger, Davis is delighted with the prospect of coming to Oakland. He likes the team and thinks he fits in well — “I’m just weird enough,” he said — and he’s excited about the community, too.
“I’m going to try so many new restaurants, and I’ve heard Oakland is a pretty soulful place. Food, live music — I love that,” Davis said.
He’s also a Raiders fan, for an unusual reason.
“Ice Cube likes the Raiders, and Ice Cube is the greatest,” Davis said of the rapper- actor. “He’s my walkup song, ‘ Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It.’ That’s been my go- to pregame music since college.
“My goal is to have a photo with Ice Cube. Not his autograph, a photo. I would cry. That’s the fan in me.”
Davis is no stranger to hero- worship. When he was a kid, Davis’ dad was scouting for the Mariners, so Ken Griffey Jr. was one of his favorites. But his real idol was a right- handed hitter, like himself.
“If you really want to get into my baseball mind, Eric Davis is a big role model; I had his poster. He was like a mythical Greek god to me,” Davis said of the onetime Giants outfielder.
Khris Davis loves to read books, especially on spirituality and self- help, and he plays pingpong; he’s open, quirky, enthusiastic.
“He’s got a crooked, wry smile, and he wants everyone to think he’s cool, but he’s sweet and goofy,” Rodney Davis said. “He’s also super generous and has a beautiful heart.”
Rodney Davis, like his son, is all on board with the move to the A’s. The Brewers are rebuilding, and though he is now working as the senior adviser of MLB’s Urban Youth Academy in Compton ( Los Angeles County), with his scout’s hat on, Rodney Davis believes that Oakland will be a better team than many people expect.
“It was fortuitous he went to Milwaukee, and it’s great he got to get his start in the major leagues there. But Oakland is a great city for him to grow as a player,” Rodney Davis said. “We have friends and family there in the Bay Area, and with the organization. Man, if I could choose a place for my son to play, it would be Oakland and I think he can help Oakland win.”
“He has the kind of power that when you have to hit batting practice after him, it’s kind of embarrassing.” Scooter Gennett, former Milwaukee teammate of Khris Davis