TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

Herman Thomas (Jr.) Davis was born on March 21, 1939, in Brooklyn, NY. Best known as Tommy Davis.

The hard-hitting left fielder spent the first eight years of his long major league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he made stops with nine other teams before he was through. In 1962, he won the National League batting title with 230 hits and a .346 average. That season, he drove in 153 runners, often sweeping teammate Maury Wills off the basepaths. He repeated as batting champ in 1963, and batted .300 six times in his 18 seasons. Injuries to his knees kept him out of the lineup quite a bit in the second half of his career, which prompted his move to a designated hitter role in the American League. Davis hit .348 in two World Series for the Dodgers.

Davis's 153 RBIs in that season broke Roy Campanella's team record of 142 in 1953 and remains the franchise record; his 230 hits are the team record for a right-handed batter (second most in franchise history behind only Babe Herman's 241 in 1930), and his .346 average was the highest by a Dodgers right-handed hitter in the 20th century until it was broken by Mike Piazza in 1997 with .362.

To date, Davis's back-to-back batting titles are the only two in the Dodgers' Los Angeles history. Only two right-handed hitters have won multiple National League batting titles since: Bill Madlock with four, and Roberto Clemente with four. Davis won the batting titles while playing his home games at Dodger Stadium, well known to be a pitcher-friendly ballpark.

Tommy lost a battle with the voters for MVP in 1962, he finished a distant 3rd behind teammate Maury Wills who won the award and immortal Willie Mays. Wills had set the NL record with 104 steals, as great as the teammates were Mays had a WAR of 10.5 and hit 49 homeruns for the Giants who won a 3 game end of season playoff vs the Dodgers. Mays went 5-11 with 2 homeruns and 4 RBI’s.

In two separate games from 1961 and 1962, Davis beat future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson with a solo home run, both times helping teammate Sandy Koufax win the game by a score of 1–0. On May 25, 1961, at Sportsman Park, Gibson and Koufax matched six scoreless innings before Davis hit a home run in the seventh for the only run of the game. The following season, on June 18 at Dodger Stadium, after the two pitchers matched eight scoreless innings, Davis hit a walk-off home run off Gibson. Koufax, who was a Brooklyn native like Davis, would joke after one of the games, "Us Brooklyn boys got to stick together."

May 1, 1965, Davis suffered a severely broken ankle, causing him to miss most of the season and affecting him for the remainder of his career; while he was still a high average hitter after his return, he lost most of his power. He did bounce back to hit .313 in 100 games in 1966 and went 2-for-8 in that fall's World Series loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Following that season, he was traded to the New York Mets.

Davis did play for good teams in the second part of his career as well, including division winners with the Oakland A's in 1971 and the Baltimore Orioles in 1973 and 1974, where he was the first full-time designated hitter in the team's history. Although he is best remembered for his play with the Dodgers, he hit over .300 with Oakland in 1971 and Baltimore in 1973. He played for ten teams in his career, hitting over .300 for four different teams and compiling a lifetime .294 batting average during a period that has been called the second dead-ball era.

His .320 batting average as a pinch hitter is the highest of any batter with at least 150 at bats in the role, tied with Alex Arias. Based on similarity scores, the most similar player to Davis is his contemporary Felipe Alou.

After being released by the Kansas City Royals in January of 1977, having played for ten different teams in eighteen seasons, Davis retired from baseball. He occasionally expressed resentment for his numerous moves, remarking late in his career: "I'm very bitter, bitter as hell. Why do I keep getting released? Don't ask me no reason why." But he conceded his reputation as having a casual style of play, noting, "the lazier I felt the better I hit", and admitting that he often went into the clubhouse to read and even to shave between at bats as designated hitter with Baltimore.

Todays highlights and Historic Days!

March 21, 1936 -- New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio runs his spring training record to 12 for 20, in an 11 - 2 Yankees victory over the newly-named Boston Bees. Before the next game is played, the prize rookie is left unattended with his foot in a diathermy machine. The resulting burn ends his spring training and delays his major league debut until May.

March 21, 1936 -- The Cincinnati Reds trade first baseman Jim Bottomley to the St. Louis Browns in exchange for utility player Johnny Burnett. Bottomley will have a strong season this year and, midway through the 1937 season, will be named manager.

March 21, 1954 -- Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella injures his left hand in an exhibition game against the Yankees. Though he will hit two home runs on Opening Day, Campanella will have surgery in early May for the bone chips, returning on May 30th. The injury started earlier when he was hit on the hand in the 1953 World Series.

March 21, 1962, the Philadelphia Phillies retire Robin Roberts’ uniform number. The ceremony took place At a cocktail party following a spring training game, the Philadelphia Phillies retire legendary franchise pitcher Robin Roberts' uniform #36.

March 21, 1975, Hall of Fame outfielder Joe “Ducky” Medwick dies in Saint Petersburg, Florida at the age of 63. Strapping outfielder Joe Medwick starred for the "Gas House Gang" St. Louis Cardinals of the 1930s and the daffy Brooklyn Dodgers of the early 1940s, supplying power to the middle of their lineups. He won the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in 1937 when he captured the triple crown with a .374 average, 31 homers and 154 RBI. He drove in and scored 100 runs in a season six times and posted a .324 career batting average in 17 seasons. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1968.

March 21, 1977, Detroit Tigers pitching sensation Mark Fidrych tears cartilage in his left knee. The injury will require surgery, which will short-circuit the career of the 1976 American League Rookie of the Year. In 1976, Fidrych gained national attention for his strange gyrations and mannerisms on the mound, which earned him the nickname “The Bird.”

March 21, 1988 — Edd Roush dies in Bradenton, Florida, at the age of 94. A two-time National League batting champion and a .323 hitter over an 18-year career, Roush entered the Hall of Fame in 1962.

TRIVIA

TRIVIA: Tommy Davis hit two triples in game 2 of the 1963 World Series, 5 other players hit?

IF you think you know the answer and bonus points for how many respond with details and if you are right I will give you a shut out! No Googling!

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 ANSWER TO YESTERDAY’S TRIVIA

YESTERDAY'S TRIVIA: Mel Parnell won 25 games in 1949, only two other pitchers in team history topped 25 in a single season, who are they? Bonus who tied him with 25?

Answer: Joe Wood has the team record of 34 wins in 1912, Cy Young topped 25 4 times, in 1901,02,03 and 04. Wes Ferrell and Dave Ferris both tied Mel with 25.

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