Willie Davis (baseball)

Infobox MLB retired
name=Willie Davis

---

position=Outfielder
bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1940|4|15
city-state|Mineral Springs|Arkansas
debutdate=September 8
debutyear=by|1960
debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
finaldate=September 30
finalyear=by|1979
finalteam=California Angels
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.279
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=2,561
stat3label=Stolen bases
stat3value=398
teams=
* Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1960-by|1973)
* Montreal Expos (by|1974)
* Texas Rangers (by|1975)
* St. Louis Cardinals (by|1975)
* San Diego Padres (by|1976)
* Chunichi Dragons (by|1977)
* Crown Lighter Lions (by|1978)
* California Angels (by|1979)
highlights=
* 2x All-Star selection (1971, 1973)
* 2x World Series champion (1963, 1965)
* 3x Gold Glove Award winner (1971, 1972, 1973)

William Henry Davis (born April 15 1940 in Mineral Springs, Arkansas, United States) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Los Angeles Dodgers. At the end of his career he ranked seventh in major league history in putouts (5449) and total chances (5719) in the outfield, and third in games in center field (2237); he was also ninth in National League history in total outfield games (2274), and won Gold Glove Awards from 1971-73. He had thirteen seasons of 20 or more stolen bases, led the NL in triples twice, and retired with the fourth most triples (138) by any major leaguer since 1945. He holds Los Angeles club records (1958-present) for career hits (2091), runs (1004), triples (110), at bats (7495), total bases (3094) and extra base hits (585). His 31-game hitting streak in by|1969 remains the longest by a Dodger. At one point during the streak, when the team was playing at home, the big message board at Dodger Stadium quoted a message from a telegram sent to Davis and the team from Zack Wheat, the team's former record holder, at his home in Missouri.

Career

As a youngster, Davis moved to Los Angeles, California, and was a multisport standout at Los Angeles Roosevelt High School. He once ran a 9.5-second 100-yard dash, and set a city record in the long jump of 25 feet 5 inches (7.75 m). Discovered by the late Dodgers scout Kenny Myers, Davis soon became a star baseball player. While playing for Reno, he scored from first base on a single nine times one season.

He debuted with the Los Angeles Dodgers in by|1960. The following season he replaced Duke Snider in center field, where he stayed for 13 years. Widely considered to be one of the fastest player of the 1960s, Davis had 20 or more stolen bases in eleven consecutive seasons, with a career-high 42 in by|1964. Along with Maury Wills, he provided speed at the top of Los Angeles lineup, being part of three pennant-winning Dodgers teams.

In by|1962, Davis batted .285 with 85 runs batted in and posted career highs in home runs (21), runs (103) and hits (171). The same season, Davis and Wills set an NL record for stolen bases by two teammates with 136 (Wills had 104, Davis 32).

Davis hit a career-high .311 in by|1969; his hitting streak that year, from August 1 to September 3, was the longest in the major leagues since Dom DiMaggio hit in 34 straight games in by|1949 and broke Zack Wheat's franchise record of 29, set in by|1916. In by|1970 he hit .305, and he had another hitting streak of 25 games in by|1971, ending with a .309 average and double figures in doubles (33), triples (10), home runs (10) and stolen bases (20). He also led the NL in triples in 1962 and 1970.

Davis made the NL All-Star team in 1971 and 1973, and won the Gold Glove each year from 1971-73. In the 1965 World Series, he set a record (since broken) of three stolen bases (including one during which he stumbled and fell, the pitcher hesitated throwing to first, and Davis literally crawled into second base safely) in a single game. He led the league in putouts twice, but also twice led the NL in errors; he committed a Series-record three errors on two consecutive plays in the fifth inning of Game Two of the 1966 World Series (the final game of Sandy Koufax's great pitching career), first by losing a fly ball in the sun, then by dropping the next fly ball and overthrowing third base.

After the 1973 season he was traded to the Montreal Expos for pitcher Mike Marshall; he batted .295 for Montreal before being traded to the Texas Rangers in December 1974. He hit only .249 for the Rangers in 42 games in 1975 before finishing the season with the St. Louis Cardinals, batting .291. In 1976 he hit .268 for the San Diego Padres, then spent two years in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons and Crown Lighter Lions; a Buddhist convert, he nonetheless irritated teammates by constantly fingering his prayer beads and chanting before gamesFact|date=September 2008. He played his final major league season with the California Angels in by|1979, and made two pinch hitting appearances in the American League Championship Series before retiring. In an 18-season career, he posted a .279 batting average with 182 home runs and 1053 RBI in 2429 games played. He also collected 2561 hits and 398 stolen bases. His total of 2237 games in center field ranked behind only Willie Mays (2827) and Tris Speaker (2690) in major league history. In addition to the Los Angeles records he retains, his club mark of 1952 games was surpassed by Bill Russell in by|1984; Steve Garvey broke his records of 849 RBI and 321 doubles in by|1981 and by|1982 respectively. Garvey and Ron Cey passed his Los Angeles club record of 154 home runs in 1979; Davis' record for left-handed hitters was broken by Shawn Green in by|2004.

Trivia

*Was selected by "The Sporting News" as the best minor league player in 1960.
*His nickname, "Three Dog," was given to him by his teammates when they went to the dog races and the dogs in the number three starting box consistently won. The label fit because of his greyhound-like speed and the fact that he wore the number 3 on his uniform.
*Left fielder Tommy Davis, who was no relation, played alongside Willie in the Dodgers' outfield from 1960 to 1966.
*Off the field, Davis had substance abuse problems. Eventually, with the help of teammate Tommy Davis and friend Tommy Hawkins, Davis recuperated. He is currently a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers Speakers Bureau, counseling youngsters on the evils of drugs.
*Has appeared as an actor in movies and TV sitcoms.
*He has a daughter named Lauren and a daughter named Fancy.
*Both Davis and Pete Rose recorded their 2,000th career hits in the same game (June 19, by|1973)

ee also

* List of major league players with 2,000 hits
* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
* List of Major League Baseball triples champions
* Montreal Expos all-time roster
* Los Angeles Dodgers all-time roster

References

* "Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia" (2000). Kingston, NY: Total/Sports Illustrated. ISBN 1-892129-34-5.

External links

*Baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br=d/daviswi02 |fangraphs=1003088 |cube=D/willie-davis
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/D/Davis_Willie.stm BaseballLibrary] - profile and career highlights
* [http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/daviswi02.php The Baseball Page]
*imdb name|id=0205660|name=Willie Davis