Rajai Davis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Oakland Athletics — No. 38 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: October 19, 1980 Norwich, Connecticut |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| August 14, 2006 for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through June 4, 2008) |
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| Batting average | .248 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 14 |
| Stolen bases | 32 |
| Teams | |
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Rajai Lavae Davis [RAH-jay] (born October 19, 1980 in Norwich, Connecticut) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics.
Davis was a switch-hitter, but became a full-time right-handed hitter prior to the 2004 season. He also throws right-handed.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Davis played Little League Baseball in Willimantic, Connecticut. In 1994, Davis helped the Willimantic Senior League All-Star team to the Connecticut State championship, losing 9-8 to South Windsor.[citation needed]
In 1999, Davis graduated from New London High School where he earned letters playing baseball, basketball, and football.[2] During the summer he was a member of the New London American Legion team.[citation needed]
After high school, Davis attended the University of Connecticut at Avery Point in Groton.[1]
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Minor leagues
Davis was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 38th round (1,134th overall) of the 2001 MLB Draft as a second baseman.[3] He had an extended minor league career, playing six full minor league seasons before making his major league debut. He achieved great success at all levels, however, with a .305 career minor league batting average to go along with 251 stolen bases in 322 chances. In addition, Davis made three consecutive All-Star appearance at three different levels of play from 2002 to 2004.[4]
[edit] Major leagues
[edit] Pittsburgh Pirates (2006–07)
Davis made his major league debut for the Pirates on August 14, 2006, going 0-for-1 in a pinch hit appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers. He stole his first base two days later, but did not get his first major league hit for another two weeks. It came on August 29, in the form of a pinch hit double off Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano. He made his first and only defensive appearance of 2006 the next day, playing three innings in right field.[1]
[edit] San Francisco Giants (2007–08)
Davis was traded to the San Francisco Giants with a player to be named later on July 31, 2007 for Matt Morris.[5] He made his Giants debut the next night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, stealing a base and throwing out a runner from center field.[6] Since the trade, Davis had been a semi-regular in the Giants lineup, filling in for Dave Roberts or Barry Bonds whenever necessary.
On August 13, the Giants played a doubleheader in Pittsburgh, which was Davis' first time back since the trade. He started in center in both games, going a combined three-for-seven, with three doubles, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and an RBI.[7][8] Additionally, in the second game, Davis made a spectacular diving catch on the warning track in left-center field.[9][10]
Just three days later, he robbed Andruw Jones of a possible home run to end the game at Turner Field in Atlanta.[11][10] Davis kept the ball as a souvenir.[3] The next night, Davis hit his first career home run off Florida Marlins starter Scott Olsen.[12]
Davis was second among NL rookies in stolen bases, with 22. The leader, Arizona's Chris Young, had 27—but also had nearly three times as many at bats as Davis.[13]
[edit] Oakland Athletics (2008–present)
On April 23, 2008, Davis was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics and was added to the active roster.
[edit] Statistics
| Year | Ag | Tm | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | TB | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 25 | PIT | NL | 20 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | .143 | .250 | .214 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 26 | PIT | NL | 24 | 48 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 3 | .271 | .357 | .354 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2007 | 26 | SF | NL | 51 | 142 | 26 | 40 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 4 | 14 | 25 | .282 | .363 | .380 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Totals: | 95 | 204 | 33 | 55 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 23 | 9 | 23 | 31 | .270 | .353 | .363 | 74 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |||
| Roll over stat abbreviations for definitions. Stats through 2007 season.[14] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Rajai Davis Player File. MLB.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
- ^ 2007 Pirates Media Guide. MLB Pressbox.
- ^ a b San Francisco Giants broadcast of August 20, 2007 game at Florida Marlins. Fox Sports Net Bay Area.
- ^ Rajai Davis Baseball Statistics. The Baseball Cube.
- ^ Haft, Chris (2007-07-31). Giants send Morris to Bucs for Davis. MLB.com.
- ^ LA Dodgers 6, San Francisco 4 (8/1/07 Boxscore). MLB.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
- ^ Pittsburgh 3, San Francisco 1 (8/13/07 Boxscore). SFGiants.com.
- ^ San Francisco 10, Pittsburgh 3 (8/13/07 Boxscore). SFGiants.com.
- ^ Haft, Chris (2007-08-14). Davis burns former team as Giants win. MLB.com.
- ^ a b Davis sees himself making more great catches this year
- ^ Haft, Chris (2007-08-16). Relentless Giants batter Braves. MLB.com.
- ^ Keller, Tom (2007-08-17). Zito dominant in win over Marlins. MLB.com.
- ^ MLB Player Batting Stats: 2007. ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
- ^ Rajai Davis Statistics. Baseball-Reference. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
