Glenn Davis (baseball)

Glenn Earl Davis (born March 28, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. While a member of the Houston Astros in the late 1980s, he finished three times in the top ten in National League MVP balloting (1986, 1988 & 1989). He batted and threw right-handed.

Early life

Davis' parents divorced when he was six years old. While attending University Christian School in Jacksonville, Florida, the school's athletic director, George Davis, took an interest in Glenn. While they are not related to Glenn, he and his wife, Norma, practically adopted him, and they are the biological parents of former major league pitcher Storm Davis. Though they are not related, Glenn and Storm have long considered themselves brothers.^[1] At University Christian, Glenn and Storm led the Christians to back-to-back state titles (1978–79). ^[2]

Both were drafted in the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft by the Baltimore Orioles upon graduation from University Christian High School (Storm seventh round, Glenn 31st). While Storm chose to sign with the Orioles, Glenn accepted a baseball scholarship and played one season at the University of Georgia and then transferred to Manatee Junior College to make himself eligible sooner for the MLB draft. The Houston Astros selected Davis in the first round of the draft’s secondary phase in 1981 and signed him for $50,000.

Houston Astros

Davis soon developed into one of the top power hitting prospects in the Astros' farm system, hitting 71 home runs before receiving his first call up to the majors in September 1984. In his first full season, 1985, Davis batted .271 with twenty home runs and 64 runs batted in to finish fifth in National League rookie of the year balloting.

Davis had a break out season in 1986. He had sixty RBIs and twenty home runs at the All-Star break to make his first All-Star team. For the season, he clubbed 31 home runs, and had 101 RBIs with a .265 batting average to win the Silver Slugger award at first base, and finish second to the Philadelphia Phillies' Mike Schmidt in NL MVP voting.

The Astros handily won the National League West by ten games over the Cincinnati Reds to face the New York Mets in the 1986 National League Championship Series. The only scoring in the game one pitchers' duel between Mike Scott and Dwight Gooden was a solo home run by Davis in the second inning, which he hit is his first ever postseason at-bat.^[3] From there, Mets pitching would contain Davis until the classic game six extra innings marathon. Davis went three-for-seven with a run scored and two RBIs, including the final run of the game as the Astros attempted to come back from a 7–4 deficit in the 16th inning.^[4]

Davis remained one of the top sluggers in the NL through 1989, earning a second All-Star selection in 1989, and finishing in the top ten in MVP voting in 1988 and 1989. In the 1990 season opener, Cincinnati Reds pitchers hit Davis with pitches in three of his six plate appearances.^[5] He hit three home runs in a loss to the San Francisco Giants on June 1,^[6] however, a rib injury caused Davis to miss the entire month of July, and limited him to just 93 games all season. Despite his limited time on the field, Davis still managed to put up respectable numbers, hitting 22 home runs and driving in 64, In '89, becoming the first Astro to hit at least 20 home runs in five consecutive seasons. Davis still ranks fifth all-time in Astros career home run leaders.

In the offseason, he was part of what many consider to be worst trade in Baltimore Orioles history when he was traded to the Orioles for three future All-Stars, Steve Finley, Pete Harnisch and Curt Schilling.^[7] After the trade Davis signed a then club record $3.275 million, one-year contract with the Orioles.

Baltimore Orioles

Davis suffered a nerve injury in his neck during his first spring training with the Orioles.^[8] He was batting .244 with four home runs and eight RBIs through April 24, 1991 when this injury landed him on the disabled list, and kept him from the Orioles' line-up through the middle of August. Upon his return, he never regained his power hitting form, and ended the season with ten home runs, 28 RBIs and a .227 average in 49 games. In 1992, Davis had a decent but unspectacular season for the Orioles, with a .276 batting average, thirteen home runs, and 48 RBIs in 106 games.

The 1993 season was a disaster for Davis. Splitting time fairly evenly between first base and designated hitter, Davis was batting just .177 with one home run and nine RBIs through May when his jaw was broken in a bar fight.^[9] After a brief stint with the Triple-A Rochester Redwings, Davis's return to action was delayed when, while he was sitting in the dugout during an Orioles game on August 1, he was hit in the head by a line drive foul ball of the bat of teammate Jeffrey Hammonds.^[10] He was finally reactivated on September 6, but, following an argument with Orioles manager Johnny Oates about being left out of the starting line-up against left-handed pitcher Dave Fleming, was released by the club without playing another game.^[11]

Post-MLB

Davis joined the New York Mets for spring training 1994, but did not make the club. He later joined the Omaha Royals and, despite a very solid season in which he produced a batting average of .282 with 27 home runs and 97 RBI, he was not given another opportunity to play in the Majors. From 1995 to 1996 Davis played for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan. He came back to the US and spent the end of the 1996 season playing for St. Paul Saints in the Northern League before retiring from baseball.

Personal life

Davis is married to the former Teresa Beesley from Columbus, Georgia, and the couple have three daughters: Sharayah, Tiffany, and Gabrielle. He is the CEO of the Cascade Group, which develops hotels in the southeast region of the country.

In 1992, Davis founded The Carpenter's Way home for disadvantaged children in Columbus, Georgia and in 2008 He and his wife helped start the Arebella Home for girls.^[12] He currently serves as an elected city councilman for the city of Columbus^[13] and owns the Hilton Garden Inn in Columbus.^[14]

References

1. ↑ Jack Friedman (August 25, 1986). "A Painful Childhood Behind Him, Houston Astro Glenn Davis Only Slugs Baseballs Now". People Magazine. 
2. ↑ , Florida Times-Union, 9/7/10
3. ↑ "1986 National League Championship Series, Game One". Baseball-Reference.com. October 8, 1986. 
4. ↑ "1986 National League Championship Series, Game Six". Baseball-Reference.com. October 15, 1986. 
5. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds 8, Houston Astros 4". Baseball-Reference.com. April 9, 1990. 
6. ↑ "San Francisco Giants , Houston Astros 5". Baseball-Reference.com. June 1, 1990. 
7. ↑ Peter Schmuck (July 9, 2004). "Big Swap, Huge Flop". The Baltimore Sun. 
8. ↑ Thom Loverro (April 15, 2011). "It's still a big deal". The Washington Examiner. 
9. ↑ "A Good Break for Bosio". Gainseville Sun. June 8, 1993. 
10. ↑ "Foul Ball to the Head Latest Misfortune for Orioles' Davis". The Bulletin. August 2, 1993. 
11. ↑ "Orioles Bite Bullet, Release Glenn Davis". Toledo Blade. September 9, 1993. 
12. ↑ The Carpenter's Way - Our History, Founder Glenn Davis, carpentersway.org; retrieved February 2007
13. ↑ City Council, columbusga.org; retrieved February 2007
14. ↑ Tony Adams (July 23, 2004). "Glenn Davis, Former Major League Baseball Player, a Managing Director in the $10 million Hilton Garden Inn in Columbus, Georgia". Columbus Ledger. 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)