Khris Davis Has Been A Gift To The Oakland Athletics

“Khris Davis? You mean the one on the Orioles?”

Back in 2015 when the name “Khris Davis” was mentioned, the first player to come to mind would be the Baltimore Orioles slugging first baseman Chris Davis, who was whacking home runs on a seemingly nightly basis. Chris Davis, the All-star MVP candidate for Baltimore was a prominent name in the baseball world in 2015 while a 27 year-old “late blooming” outfielder on the Milwaukee Brewers was finishing up a season in which he hit 27 home runs over 121 games.

His name was Khris Davis.

Here's a look at Khris Davis wearing green and gold. Welcome to the #Athletics! #GreenCollar pic.twitter.com/t2K6RqvyZK

— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) February 13, 2016

Looking to clear the way for young prospect Domingo Santana, the Brewers shipped Davis to Oakland for catcher Jacob Nottingham and pitcher Bubba Derby on February 12, 2016. Davis was fresh off of a season that saw him hit 27 home runs and drive in 66 runs, his second season in a row with over 20-home runs and over 60 RBI’s. Fresh off of a season in which Oakland hit only 146 home runs, General Manager Billy Beane saw a chance to add to the Athletics offense in the form of Khris Davis. Led by Josh Reddick’s 20 home runs in 2015, the A’s lacked a bonafide slugger in the lineup. Truly, they had lots of trouble with finding a power hitter as they had not had a 40-home run season since Jason Giambi in 2000.

Davis won the starting left field job for the 2016 season and the rest is history.

By the end of 2016, Davis–or “Khrush” as the Oakland faithful would go on to call him–had the first 40-home run season for the Athletics since 2000 with a league third-best 42 home runs. His 102 RBI’s in 2016 was the first 100+ RBI season for an Athletics player since Frank Thomas had 114 in 2006. Finally, Oakland had their slugger. And since that 2016 season, there has been no dip in production. Literally, no dip in any form of offensive production, including batting average. Since the 2015 season, Khris Davis has hit .247 ever single year. Thats right.

2015? .247

2016? .247

2017? 2018?

Yep. Davis hit .247 in both seasons.

While that batting average isn’t ultimately impressive, what is impressive is the fact that Davis has hit over 40-home runs and driven in over 100-RBI’s in three straight seasons. After hitting 43 home runs in 2017, Davis became the first Oakland A’s player to ever have back-to-back 40-home run seasons. In 2018, he led all of baseball with 48 home runs and finished in the top-ten in MVP voting.

48 home runs.
123 RBI.
1 outstanding player.
Khris Davis wins the Edgar Martínez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award!#RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/J6B2OJ8jxK

— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) November 20, 2018

Since 2016, Davis leads all of Major League Baseball in Home Runs (136) and Runs Batted In (335). Some of the players he’s outproduced? Giancarlo Stanton, Manny Machado, JD Martinez, Mike Trout– literally everyone in baseball.

When it comes to the long ball and driving in runs, nobody has succeeded more of late than the one they call Krush.

As the 2019 season gets into full swing, Davis is already back on his torrid pace with five home runs and 10 runs batted in over his first 54 at-bats. In the last year of his contract, expect Davis to put up his, now normal, huge numbers. As he attempts to lead Oakland back to the postseason, one thing is clear: when the Athletics need a home run in a big spot, they can count on Khris.

Khris with a K. Not that Chris Davis on Baltimore who has gone a major league record 0-for-49 of late.

It’s funny how things change. In the case of Khris Davis, this change is ideal.

Very ideal.

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