Alvin Davis

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Alvin Davis

|image=Alvin Davis.jpg

|image_size=120

|caption=Davis in Seattle, Opening Day 2007

|position=First baseman / Designated hitter

|bats=Left

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1960|9|9}}

|birth_place=Riverside, California, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=April 11

|debutyear=1984

|debutteam=Seattle Mariners

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=June 25

|finalyear=1992

|finalteam=California Angels

|debut2league = NPB

|debut2date=July 10

|debut2year=1992

|debut2team=Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes

|final2league = NPB

|final2date=September 15

|final2year=1992

|final2team=Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.280

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=160

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=683

|stat2league = NPB

|stat21label=Batting average

|stat21value=.275

|stat22label=Home runs

|stat22value=5

|stat23label=Runs batted in

|stat23value=12

|teams=

Seattle Mariners ({{mlby|1984}}–{{mlby|1991}})
California Angels ({{mlby|1992}})
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes ({{by|1992}})

|highlights=

}}

Alvin Glenn Davis (born September 9, 1960), nicknamed "Mr. Mariner",{{cite news |last=Stone |first=Larry |date=March 5, 2013 |title=Alvin Davis: Mr. Mariner reconnects with his old team |work=The Seattle Times |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/alvin-davis-mr-mariner-reconnects-with-his-old-team/ |access-date=July 30, 2017}}{{cite web |last=Levi |first=Adam |date=June 30, 2017 |title=Mariners Greatest Hits: "Mr. Mariner" Alvin Davis |url=http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/mariners-greatest-hits-mr-mariner-alvin-davis-020517 |access-date=July 30, 2017 |work=Fox Sports |publisher=FanSided}} is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He played eight of his nine seasons for the Seattle Mariners and won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1984.{{cite web |url=http://sportspressnw.com/2180315/2014/wayback-machine-alvin-davis-mr-mariner |work=Sports Press Northwest |last1=Eskenazi |first1=David |last2=Rudman |first2=Steve |title=Wayback Machine: Alvin Davis, Mr. Mariner |date=April 11, 2014 |access-date=July 30, 2017}}

Early years

The youngest of four sons,{{cite magazine |last=Maisel |first=Ivan |date=June 11, 1984 |title=At last, a man to shout about |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1984/06/11/at-last-a-man-to-shout-about |magazine=Sports Illustrated |page=64}} Davis was born and raised in Riverside, California. His father died in 1970. Davis graduated from John W. North High School in 1978. He was selected in the eighth round (189th overall) of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft by the San Francisco Giants, but opted to attend Arizona State University play college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils.{{Cite web |title=8th Round of the 1978 MLB June Amateur Draft |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=1978&draft_round=8&draft_type=junreg&query_type=year_round |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} Davis, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed, was later drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the sixth round (144th overall) of the 1981 Major League Baseball draft, but opted to stay in college and earned a degree in finance.{{Cite web |title=6th Round of the 1981 MLB June Amateur Draft |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=1981&draft_round=6&draft_type=junreg&query_type=year_round |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

Minor league career

After his senior season at Arizona State in 1982, Davis was drafted in June by the Seattle Mariners in the sixth round (138th overall).{{Cite web |title=6th Round of the 1982 MLB June Amateur Draft |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=1982&draft_round=6&draft_type=junreg&query_type=year_round |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} He played the rest of the season in Double-A for the Lynn Sailors in the Eastern League, batting .284 with 12 home runs and 56 runs batted in (RBI) in 74 games.{{Cite web |title=Alvin Davis Minor & Japanese Leagues Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=davis-001alv |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} Davis continued at that level in 1983 in Tennessee, with the Chattanooga Lookouts in the Southern League. He hit .296 with 18 home runs and 83 RBI in 131 games, and nearly averaged a walk per game.

Davis began the 1984 season in Triple-A, with the Salt Lake City Gulls of the Pacific Coast League. After just one game, he was promoted to the majors, due to a hand injury to Ken Phelps on April 6, and Davis remained with Seattle for eight seasons, through 1991. In that only game for Salt Lake, he went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, and never returned to the minors.

Major league career

=Seattle Mariners=

During a nine-year major league career, Davis batted .280 with 160 home runs and 683 RBI in 1,206 career games.{{Cite web |title=Alvin Davis Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/davisal01.shtml |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} He hit 20-plus homers in three seasons, and drove in over 100 runs twice.

Davis holds the Mariners and Major League Baseball record for the most consecutive games reaching base to start a career, with 47.{{cite web |last=Thorpe |first=Jacob |date=September 24, 2013 |title=Safe to say, Almonte makes strong first impression |url=http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20130923&content_id=61504426¬ebook_id=61509896&vkey=notebook_sea&c_id=sea |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191113/http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20130923&content_id=61504426¬ebook_id=61509896&vkey=notebook_sea&c_id=sea |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |access-date=May 26, 2015 |work=Seattle Mariners |publisher=MLB.com}} Well-liked by Mariners fans, Davis held most of the young franchise's offensive records until the arrival of Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martínez, and Alex Rodriguez. His fellow players thought highly of him as well. "You know sooner or later we're going to score some runs," teammate Ed Vande Berg said in 1984. "We have mister everything on the offense – Mr. Alvin Davis." Tommy John called him a "modern-day George Scott," explaining, "When Scott first came into the league, no one knew how to pitch to him, and they didn't find out for three years."{{cite web |author= |date=May 7, 1984 |title=VandeBerg, M's clip Angels |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=860&dat=19840507&id=q5hUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5o4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2459,3832191&hl=en |access-date=March 31, 2020 |work=Ellensburg Daily Record |via=Google News |agency=UPI}}

Davis made his major league debut in the Kingdome on April 11, 1984; he homered in his first two big league {{nowrap|games,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E1dOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g_kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3966%2C2588219 |work=Spokane Chronicle |location=(Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=M's burn Bosox |date=April 12, 1984 |page=33}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FldOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g_kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6945%2C3156950 |work=Spokane Chronicle |location=(Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Brunansky bruises Mariners |date=April 14, 1984 |page=14}}}} and collected two doubles in his sixth and three doubles in the next.{{cite news |date=April 19, 1984 |title=Davis cuffs Caudill, A's around, 5-4 |page=33 |work=The Spokesman-Review |agency=Associated Press |location=(Spokane, Washington) |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xxhXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8e4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5299%2C2106023 |via=Google News}} After his first week, Davis had a .370 batting average, a .778 slugging percentage, and a seven-game hitting streak. He reached base in each of the first 47 games of his career, and was chosen for his only All-Star Game as a rookie. Named the Mariners' MVP, he was also voted the American League's Rookie of the Year, with a .284 batting average, 27 home runs, and 116 RBI in 152 games.{{cite news |date=November 21, 1984 |title=M's Davis gets his shot; earns AL Rookie honors |page=2C |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |agency=Associated Press |location=(Idaho) |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I4tfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7C4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4608%2C1885573 |via=Google News}} Davis hit a career-high 29 home runs in 1987, and he had perhaps his best season in 1989, when he finished second in the American League with a .920 OPS.{{Cite web |title=1989 American League Batting Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1989-batting-leaders.shtml |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

With the addition of Pete O'Brien in 1990, Davis was increasingly used as Seattle's designated hitter. He only saw action on defense as a first baseman in 52 games that season, further reduced to just 14 games in 1991. His batting average fell to .221 in 1991 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI in 145 games; with young Tino Martinez in the organization, Davis was not in the team's plans for 1992.

Davis' season high for home runs was 29 in 1987 and his most RBI (116) came as a rookie in 1984. His highest batting average for a season was .305 in 1989. Davis hit the last home run in Chicago's Comiskey Park on September 29th, 1990.{{cite web | url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA199009290.shtml | title=Seattle Mariners vs Chicago White Sox Box Score: September 29, 1990 }}

=California Angels=

After eight years in Seattle, Davis signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the California Angels on February 14, 1992.{{cite news |date=February 14, 1992 |title=Alvin Davis signed by Angels |page=C5 |work=The Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BV1WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QPADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6110%2C1841542 |via=Google News}} In 40 games with the Angels in a platoon role, he hit .250 with no homers and 16 RBI. Davis had two hits in his final major league game,{{cite news |date=June 26, 1992 |title=Major League stat sheet |page=3B |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |agency=Associated Press |location=(Idaho) |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9n9fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RjAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5043%2C2616157 |via=Google News}} but was released after only a half season in late June.{{cite news |date=June 27, 1992 |title=Alvin Davis headed for Japan |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |agency=Associated Press |location=(Idaho) |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=939fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RjAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4021%2C3150076 |via=Google News}} {{nowrap|He soon}} joined the Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka in Japan, and appeared in 40 games in the Pacific League, batting .275 with five home runs and 12 RBI.

Personal life

Davis lives in his hometown of Riverside with his wife Kim; they have three children. Davis has been a volunteer at Cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church in Riverside, California for the past nine years overseeing the church's finances and has served as a member of the church's elder board for over 20 years.{{cite web |title=Leadership and Staff |url=https://www.cornerstonebible.org/leadership-and-staff/ |website=Cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church}} He has also previously coached baseball at Martin Luther King High School for ten years.{{cite web |title=Running Home to the Father |url=http://awana.org/alvindavis/alvin-davis,default,pg.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504111950/http://awana.org/alvindavis/alvin-davis,default,pg.html |archive-date=May 4, 2012 |website=Awana}} After his father's death in 1970, Davis and his mother Mylie had a very close relationship, and she relocated from Riverside to Tempe when he was in college.

In 1997, Davis was inducted into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Alvin Davis - Mariners Hall of Fame |url=https://www.mlb.com/mariners/fans/hall-of-fame/members/davis |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=August 10, 2008 |work=Seattle Mariners |publisher=MLB.com}}

In 2012, Davis returned to the Seattle Mariners organization as a roving minor league instructor.{{cite web |last=Baker |first=Geoff |date=July 26, 2012 |title=Hisashi Iwakuma returns to Japan for personal reasons, but Mariners expect him to make next start |url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/mariners/2012/07/26/hisashi_iwakuma_returns_to_jap/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304022740/http://blogs.seattletimes.com/mariners/2012/07/26/hisashi_iwakuma_returns_to_jap/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=March 6, 2013 |website=The Seattle Times}}

His niece is professional wrestler Candice LeRae.