Richard Earl Davis (born September 25, 1953) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. He played all or part of six seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

from 1977 until 1982, primarily as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He also played five seasons in Japan with the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stad ...

from 1984 until 1988. His cousin was former infielder

Enos Cabell Enos Milton Cabell (pronounced ), (born October 8, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman and third baseman from 1972 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Hous ...

Playing career

Brewers

Davis was signed as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

in 1972. After several years in the minors, he was called up to the Brewers in July 1977. He split time in the outfield and as a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

for the next four seasons, being used at DH more often than any other Brewer between 1978 and 1980.

Phillies

During

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 1981, the Brewers traded Davis to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for pitcher

Randy Lerch Randy Louis Lerch (born October 9, 1954), is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, Montreal Expos, and San Francisco Giants, from to . Early ...

. Davis played some right field and also came off the bench as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

20 times. Though Davis missed most of July and August with an injury, he had 96

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s and hit .333 with 19 runs batted in. Davis continued in the same role to start the 1982 season, but was soon on the move again.

Wayne Nordhagen and end of Major League Baseball career

In June 1982, Davis would be traded not once, but twice, each time for the same player. At the June 15 trading deadline, the Phillies first traded him to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

for outfielder

Wayne Nordhagen Wayne Oren Nordhagen (born July 4, 1948) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played eight seasons in the majors for the Chicago White Sox (1976–81), Toronto Blue Jays (1982), Pittsburgh Pirates (198 ...

. While the Phillies sent Nordhagen on to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

on the same day in exchange for another outfielder,

Bill Robinson Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...

, Davis stayed in Toronto for an entire week, appearing in three games and going 2-for-7 at the plate. On June 22, the Blue Jays traded Davis to the Pirates for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

. On June 25, the Pirates sent a player to the Blue Jays — and it was Nordhagen. Davis struggled for the rest of the season in Pittsburgh, batting .182 in 77 at bats. Not a very good defensive outfielder, Davis needed to hit well to keep his job, and Pittsburgh wound up releasing Davis in March .

Japanese career

Davis found a second career with the

of the Japanese

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

, who signed him for the 1984 season. While Davis hit a .310 with 18 home runs in 1984, he broke out in 1985, hitting 40 home runs, driving in 109 runs, and batting .343 in 128 games. During the season, he hit home runs in six straight games to tie a league record. He repeated his success in , batting .337. In 1987, he drove in nine runs in one game on April 28. Davis also had his share of troubles in Japan. In 1986, he charged the mound after being hit by a pitch by

Osamu Higashio is a former Japanese baseball player who played in the Japanese professional leagues from 1969–1988, being remembered as one of the leading Japanese pitchers in the 1980s. He also was manager of the Seibu Lions from 1995 to 2001. Professiona ...

and was fined 100,000 yen.

Whiting, Robert Robert Whiting (born October 24, 1942) is a best-selling author and journalist who has written several books on contemporary Japanese culture - which include topics such as baseball and American gangsters operating in Japan. He was born in New Jer ...

"The Pain Of Perfection,"
''Sports Illustrated'' (May 15, 1989)
Archived at JapaneseBaseball.com
Then, in 1988, his apartment was raided by the Japanese police, who found 14 grams of marijuana and related paraphernalia. After three weeks in police custody, he was released by the Buffaloes and sent home to the United States,

. ''You Gotta Have Wa'' (Vintage Departures, 1989), p. 110. with

Ralph Bryant Ralph Wendell Bryant (born May 20, 1961) is a retired Major League Baseball player. He played with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the major leagues, and with the Chunichi Dragons and Kintetsu Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball. He batted left- ...

filling the void left by his departure on the Buffaloes.

References

External links

Dick Davis
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Dick 1953 births Living people African-American baseball players Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Long Beach, California Berkshire Brewers players Danville Warriors players Kintetsu Buffaloes players Major League Baseball designated hitters Major League Baseball outfielders Milwaukee Brewers players Newark Co-Pilots players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Portland Beavers players Spokane Indians players Toronto Blue Jays players Thetford Mines Miners players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople