| Rajai Davis | |
|---|---|
 Davis with theCleveland Indians in 2016 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: (1980-10-19)October 19, 1980 (age 44) Norwich, Connecticut, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 14, 2006, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 2019, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .262 |
| Home runs | 62 |
| Runs batted in | 387 |
| Stolen bases | 415 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Rajai Lavae Davis (/ˈrɑːʒeɪ/; born October 19, 1980) is an American former professionalbaseballoutfielder. He played 14 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for thePittsburgh Pirates,San Francisco Giants,Oakland Athletics,Toronto Blue Jays,Detroit Tigers,Cleveland Indians,Boston Red Sox, andNew York Mets. He is currently employed by MLB in the Baseball Operations department.
Davis began his career as aswitch-hitter, but became a full-timeright-handed hitter prior to the 2004 season. He also throws right-handed.[1]
Davis was born inNorwich, Connecticut, on October 19, 1980. He playedLittle League Baseball inWillimantic, Connecticut, for the Willimantic Fire Fighters. In 1991, Davis helped the Willimantic Little League All-Star Team win the District 11 championship. Rajai also played in the Willimantic Youth Football League.
In 1999, Davis graduated fromNew London High School where he earned letters playingbaseball,basketball, andfootball.[2] During the summer he was a member of the New LondonAmerican Legion team.[3]
After high school, Davis attended theUniversity of Connecticut at Avery Point of theNJCAA inGroton.[1] While in college, Davis played for theNew England Collegiate Baseball League's Middletown Giants (now theFutures Collegiate Baseball League'sNorth Shore Navigators).
After borrowing gas money to drive himself from Connecticut toPittsburgh for a pre-draft open workout atPNC Park, Davis was drafted by thePittsburgh Pirates in the 38th round (1,134th overall) of the2001 Major League Baseball Draft as asecond baseman. Davis chose to sign with the Pirates instead of accepting a scholarship offer to continue his college baseball career atUConn.[4] He played six full minor league seasons before making his major league debut. He had a .305 career minor leaguebatting average to go along with 251stolen bases in 322 attempts. In addition, Davis made three consecutive All-Star appearances at three different levels of play from 2002 to 2004.[5]
Davis made his major league debut for the Pirates on August 14, 2006, going 0-for-1 in apinch hit appearance against theMilwaukee Brewers. He stole his first base two days later, but did not get his first Major Leaguehit for another two weeks. It came on August 29, in the form of a pinch hitdouble offChicago Cubs pitcherCarlos Zambrano. He made his first and only defensive appearance of 2006 the next day, playing threeinnings inright field.[1]
Davis was traded to theSan Francisco Giants with pitcher Stephen MacFarland on July 31, 2007, forMatt Morris.[6] He made his Giants debut the next night against theLos Angeles Dodgers, stealing a base and throwing out a runner fromcenter field.[7] In his time with the Giants, Davis was a semi-regular in the Giantslineup, filling in forDave Roberts orBarry Bonds whenever necessary.
On August 13, the Giants played adoubleheader in Pittsburgh, which was Davis's first time back since the trade. He started in center in both games, going a combined three-for-seven, with three doubles, tworuns scored, two stolen bases, and arun batted in (RBI).[8][9] Additionally, in the second game, Davis made a spectacular diving catch on thewarning track in left-center field.[10][11]
Just three days later, he robbedAndruw Jones of a possiblehome run to end the game atTurner Field.[11][12] Davis kept the ball as a souvenir.[13] The next night, Davis hit his first career home run offFlorida Marlinsstarting pitcherScott Olsen.[14]
Davis was second among theNational League (NL) rookie leaders in stolen bases, with 22. The leader,Arizona'sChris Young, had 27 – but also had nearly three times as manyat-bats as Davis.[15]
On April 23, 2008, Davis was claimed off waivers by theOakland Athletics and was added to the active roster. With Oakland in 2008, he stole 25 bases in 196 at-bats. In 2009, Davis became the primary center fielder for the A's, hitting .305 with 41 stolen bases in 125 games, primarily in center field. In 2010, he also started for most of the season hitting .284 with 52 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. WhenCoco Crisp came back from injury, Davis switched from center field to playing both left and right field for the remainder of the season.[16]
Following the acquisition ofDavid DeJesus, the Athletics traded Davis to theToronto Blue Jays forTrystan Magnuson andDaniel Farquhar on November 17, 2010.[17]
In a game against theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim on August 14, 2011, Davis tore his hamstring running to first base. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list after the game. Prior to the injury, Davis ranked third in the American League in stolen bases with 34.[18]
On May 18, 2012, in a home game against theNew York Mets, Davis had the first multi home run game of his career, hitting two home runs and four RBIs in a 14–5 win.[19] On July 30 in a game against theSeattle Mariners, Davis hit his first career lead-off home run. The home run, his sixth of the season, established a career high for Davis in a single season. On August 12, 2012, Davis recorded five RBIs against theNew York Yankees, establishing a single game career high in RBIs.[20] Davis finished second in stolen bases, with 46, for the 2012 campaign (Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim led the league with 49).
Davis was placed on the disabled list on May 11, 2013, with a strained left oblique.[21] After a brief two game rehab assignment with theDunedin Blue Jays, Davis was activated from the disabled list on June 4.[22] On June 8, in the bottom of the 18th inning against theTexas Rangers, Davis hit a single that scoredEmilio Bonifacio in the longest Blue Jays game in franchise history.[23] In a game against theHouston Astros on July 28, Davis tied a Blue Jays franchise record by stealing four bases, joiningDamaso Garcia,Dave Collins,Roberto Alomar, andOtis Nixon.[24]
On December 11, 2013, the Tigers signed Davis to a two-year, $10 million contract.[25] On June 30, 2014, he hit a walk-off grand slam home run againstOakland Athletics closerSean Doolittle to win the game 5–4. It was the first walk-off homer of Davis' career,[26] and the 28th documentedultimate grand slam in MLB history.[27]
On August 30, 2014, Davis recorded his 32nd stolen base of the season, and his 300th stolen base of his career. Davis became just the second active player to record a 30-steal season for three different teams. Davis' 300 stolen bases ranks him 12th among active players.[28]
In 2014, Davis played in 134 games for Detroit, batting .282 with 36 stolen bases. He was used in an outfield platoon in 2015, playing in 112 games. Despite limited plate appearances this season (370), he hit a career-high 11 triples.
On December 17, 2015, Davis signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with theCleveland Indians.[29]
On July 2, 2016, Davis hit for the cycle in a game against theToronto Blue Jays. It was the eighth cycle inCleveland Indians franchise history, the first sinceTravis Hafner in 2003, and the sixth player in Major League history to hit for a reverse cycle. He led off the game with a home run, hit a triple in the third inning, a double in the sixth inning, and finished the cycle with a single in the ninth inning.
On November 2, 2016, duringGame 7 of the 2016 World Series, Davis hit a game tying, two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning off ofCubscloserAroldis Chapman. It was the firsthome run allowed by Chapman since June 18, when he was with theYankees. The Indians, however, went on to lose the game (and thus the series) to the Cubs in extra innings.[30][31] The home run, as of the end of the 2023 MLB season, remains as the third-most consequential play in MLB history according to the statistic "Championship Win Probability Added," adding 39% to Cleveland's chances of winning its first World Series since 1948. It also remains as the highest percentage in that stat for any team that went on to lose the World Series.[32]
In January 2017, Davis signed a one-year deal with the Athletics.[33] During his time with Oakland during the 2017 season, Davis appeared in 100 games, batting .233./.294/.353 with 18 RBIs, 5 home runs, and 26 stolen bases.[34] He primarily played center field, along with some games at the other outfield positions.
TheBoston Red Sox acquired Davis from the A's for minor league outfielder Rafael Rincones on August 23, 2017.[35] In 36 at bats with Boston he hit .250/.289/.306.[34]
On February 17, 2018, Davis signed a minor league contract with theCleveland Indians that included an invitation to the Indians' spring training camp.[36] The Indians purchased Davis's contract on March 29, 2018. For the season with the Indians, he batted .224/.278/.281 in 196 at bats.[34]
On December 17, 2018, Davis signed a minor-league contract with theNew York Mets, the team for which he rooted as a child growing up in Connecticut.[37][38] On May 22, 2019, Davis was informed during batting practice for the AAASyracuse Mets, before their road game in Pennsylvania, that he had been called up to the big league club. He took a two-hourUber ride toCiti Field, arriving in the third inning, and stopped to take a photo with his Uber driver outside the stadium. He only met managerMickey Callaway in the fifth; he entered the game in the eighth as a pinch-hitter and hit a three-run home run, extending the Mets' lead to 6-1. The entire story captured national media attention.[39][40]
He was designated for assignment on May 26.[41] After clearing waivers, Davis accepted an assignment to the minor leagues, and was outrighted off the major league roster on May 28, 2019. On August 20, the Mets selected Davis' contract. On September 14, afterJacob deGrom andHyun-Jin Ryu both went seven scoreless innings, Davis hit a pinch-hit bases-clearing 3-run double in the bottom of the 8th againstJulio Urias to give the Mets a 3-0 lead,[42] which they would hold to even the series against theLos Angeles Dodgers. In 2019 he batted .200/.231/.400 with one home run in 25 at bats.[34]
On February 13, 2020, Davis signed with theAcereros de Monclova of theMexican League (LMB).[43] Davis was released by the Acereros on September 1, 2020, after never playing a game due to the cancelled LMB season.
On February 1, 2021, it was announced that Davis would be retiring to take a position in the baseball operations department of Major League Baseball.[44]
Davis and his wife, Marissa, have two children: a daughter (born 2013) and a son (born 2015).[45][46] They live inEast Lyme, Connecticut.[47]
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle July 2, 2016 | Succeeded by |
