Go ahead and put April 19, 2019 in an Athletics time capsule. It almost seems like a dream when looking at the A’s business model under owner John Fisher, but it actually happened.
Designated hitter Khris Davis, the second most prolific power hitter over a three-year span since the franchise moved to Oakland in 1968, was signed to a two-year, $33.5 million contract extension. There was fanfare and music in The Treehouse. Teammates joined in the celebration along with general manager David Forst and manager Bob Melvin.
“I think committing to K.D. kind of shows you what we hope is the strategy down the road, and that’s to sign some of these other guys too,” Melvin said at the time. “That’s the first step in showing the guys that are here that is the case, and that would be great.”
Less than a month later on May 5, Davis, playing left field in a National League park in Pittsburgh, leaned over the railing to make a circus catch — ironic in that defense was never his strong suit — and it’s no exaggeration to say he was never the same.
It’s worth mentioning because Davis, 36, announced his retirement after not playing professional baseball since 2022. As unique a personality as he was a baseball player, Davis, according to USA Today, is embarking on a new career as an auto mechanic after spending the last year at the Arizona Automotive Institute.
The fan boycott aside, and with the A’s planning alumni involvement for the rest of the season before a scheduled move to Sacramento and eventually Las Vegas, it’d be a shame for the player known as “Khrush” to not get his due. He hit 133 home runs from 2016 through 2018 with seasons of 42, 43 and 48. He finished with 77 home runs at the Coliseum, with Texas the next highest venue with 19.
The 77 home runs in Oakland are ninth in the history of the facility despite Davis’ playing 314 games there. That’s nine more than Matt Olson, five fewer than Rickey Henderson.
No Oakland A’s player — not Reggie Jackson, not Mark McGwire or Jose Canseco — ever hit 40-plus home runs with the team in a three-year span. (McGwire hit 144 home runs in 1995-97 with 52, 58 and 34. The last 34 came before an in-season trade to St. Louis he hit 24 more).
The raw power Davis displayed manifested itself in drives to center and right center. He could fall into a prolonged slump and look helpless almost as easily as he could carry the A’s on his back when in a hot streak. Home runs were punctuated by a salute from Davis to his third base coach and the fan base as he rounded second.
Davis’ signing sparked some optimism that maybe the A’s would do more to keep their own. The hadn’t made such a contract commitment since 2004, when Eric Chavez signed a six-year, $66 million extension. Which was the year before Fisher and Lew Wolff took over ownership.
Matt Chapman, the A’s third baseman, was guardedly optimistic.
“Obviously I want to be part of this organization and love coming to play here,” Chapman said. “I want to be part of this for a long time, and Khris is a step in the right direction for all of that.”
Khris Davis (2) offers a salute after hitting a home run against the Chicago White Sox in the playoffs in 2020. Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group
Said Olson: “It’s definitely encouraging. It’s a good scenario for everyone as far as K.D., the team, the fans, us as players in here. It’s all good when you see the team committing to a guy like that.”
Reliever Blake Treinen was more skeptical.
“I don’t want to get hung up on one signing when they’re talking about the future because the future still has to be played out, right?” Treinen said.
Chapman, Olson and Treinen, as well as many others, wound up elsewhere.
As for Davis, the rib and oblique injury he sustained in Pittsburgh precipitated a downhill slide from which he never recovered.
Davis was not a big talker or much into self-promotion, and teammates as well as the fan base loved him for it. One of his entertaining quirks was his batting average was .247 for each of his 40-plus home run seasons (as well as in .247 for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Having arrived in exchange for catcher Jacob Nottingham and pitcher Bubba Derby, Davis was a steal even if he was at his peak for just three seasons. He slumped to .220 with 23 home runs and 73 RBIs in 2019 after the Pittsburgh injury. Beginning with the pandemic season in 2020 with the A’s, Davis continued to struggle in 30 games. He was eventually traded to Texas (Jonah Heim went with him to the Rangers and Elvis Andrus came to the A’s).
Davis even came back to Oakland briefly in 2021 after being designated for assignment by Texas, but he hit only eight more home runs in 2020 and 2021. There were stints in the Mexican League and South Atlantic Independent League.
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While Davis never made it to 10 years to be fully vested in his pension, he told USA Today he wouldn’t mind coming back as a coach to accrue his remaining time.
“Ideally, that would be a nice way to close out the chapter,”’ Davis says. “It would meet my goal of playing in the big leagues for 10 years. It just feels incomplete because I didn’t reach my goal. It would be cool to finish out like that.”
In the meantime, Davis has lubes and oil changes on his mind. And hopefully an invite to the Coliseum for one last salute.
