A speedy but unexceptional outfielder with a strong arm, Davis won Oakland’s right field job in 1983 and batted .275 with 32 stolen bases. A first-ball, fastball hitter, he slumped to .230 in 1984 before adjusting in 1985, hitting .287 with 24 HR and 82 RBI. Just after the 1987 All-Star break, he kicked a dugout door in anger, injuring his knee, and fell into a prolonged slump. He signed as a free agent with the Dodgers for 1988, but failed to hit and lost his job. He found room in the lineup as a DH during the World Series though, and his two-run homer in Game Five proved the winning margin as the Dodgers clinched their unlikely World Championship. His most vital contribution in the series, however, may have come in Game One, when he worked A’s closer Dennis Eckersley for a two-out pinch-hit walk, stole second, and scored on Kirk Gibson‘s dramatic game-winning homer.
