Chili Davis

Charles Theodore "Chili" Davis (born January 17, 1960) is a Jamaican-American former professional baseball player.

He played as an outfielder and designated hitter from to for the San Francisco Giants (1981–1987), California Angels (1988–1990, 1993–1996), Minnesota Twins (1991–1992), Kansas City Royals (1997) and New York Yankees (1998–1999).

Davis played in the outfield from 1981 to 1989.

In his first regular season in 1982, he hit .261 with 19 home runs, 76 RBI and 24 stolen bases, and also led all National League outfielders in assists.

In 1984 Davis finished third in NL batting average (.315), behind Tony Gwynn (.351) and Lee Lacy (.321).

After seven seasons in San Francisco, including two All-Star appearances in 1984 and 1986, Davis signed with the Angels as a free agent before the 1988 season.

When he led the league in fielding errors in 1986, his nine errors tied the major league record for fewest errors by a category leader.

In his first two years with California, Davis hit 21 home runs with 93 RBI in 1988, and then 22 home runs with 90 RBI in 1989.

In 1990, hampered by chronic back problems and defensive shortcomings, Davis moved from full-time outfield duty to a DH role.

After signing with Minnesota the following year, Davis remained a DH and would do so for the rest of his career.

Davis contributed to the Twins with his switch-hitting ability, as the Twins' lineup already possessed right-handed batting Kirby Puckett and left-handed batting Kent Hrbek.

Though he hit well from both sides of the plate, Davis performed better from the left side, as many switch hitters do as a result of facing more right-handed pitching.

By 1990, he started to see more time as designated hitter in the American League.

In 1991 he led the Twins in home runs (29), RBI (93), doubles (34), walks (95), intentional walks (13), times on base (244), pitches seen (2,469), games played (153), slugging average (.507), on-base percentage (.385), OPS (.892), home run frequency (18.4 at bat per home run), and most pitches seen per plate appearance (3.89).

With these numbers, Davis helped Minnesota rise from a last-place finish the previous year to the AL West title.

In the 1991 World Series, in which he hit two home runs, Davis and the Twins defeated the Atlanta Braves in seven games.

Davis declined in production in 1992 (12 home runs and 66 RBI), and as a free agent the following year returned to the Angels.

Davis provided four years of solid production for California, including 27 home runs and a career-high 112 RBI in 1993.

In 1993, he appeared as a pitcher for the only time in his career, pitching the final two innings of a game against the Texas Rangers.

He faced seven batters, while allowing no runs, no hits, and surrendering no walks.

However, he did hit batter Jose Canseco.

In 1994, he hit .311, with 26 home runs and 84 RBI, and appeared in the All-Star game in the strike-shortened 1994 season.

In 1995, he hit .318 with 20 home runs and 86 RBI, and in 1996 hit .292, 28 home runs and 96 RBI.

Davis was specifically a designated hitter from 1995 to 1999, and did not log any innings in the field the final five seasons of his career.

In 1997 he was traded to Kansas City for starter Mark Gubicza.

In his one year with the Royals, Davis hit .279 with 90 RBI and a career-high 30 homers.

Davis spent his final two seasons with the Yankees, winning his second and third World Series rings.

In 1999, his final season, he hit .269 with 19 home runs and 78 RBI.

Davis finished his career with 350 home runs which ranks seventh all-time by a switch hitter, following Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltrán and Lance Berkman.

Eleven times, Davis hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game and finished his career tied with Eddie Murray for first in this category, which has since been broken by Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher and Carlos Beltrán.

His first MLB coaching position after his playing career was with the Oakland Athletics from 2012 to 2014.

He also coached for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets.

Davis was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed.

He is the first ballplayer born in Jamaica to appear in an MLB game (although Oscar Levis played in the Negro leagues).

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Davis moved with his three brothers and sister to Los Angeles at the age of 10.

Davis originally attended Fremont High School before transferring to Susan Miller Dorsey High School in Los Angeles.

In high school, Davis played catcher and first base.

Prior to his first year in the minor leagues, Davis was exclusively a right-handed hitter.

In a 19-year career, Davis was a .274 hitter with 350 home runs and 1,372 RBI in 2,436 MLB games.

Davis was an outfielder developed in the Giants minors system.