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2018 Home Run Leader Announces Retirement

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Khris Davis, 36, has officially announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. He last played in the majors in 2021 and played nine years in the bigs. Davis spent time with the Brewers, and Rangers, but will be most fondly remembered for his time with the Oakland Athletics.

Khris Davis Announces Retirement from Baseball

Early Beginnings with the Brewers

Davis was originally drafted by the Washington Nationals in 2006, but wouldn’t sign with a team until 2009, when the Milwaukee Brewers drafted him in the 7th round. Like most notable major league hitters, Davis crushed opposing pitching in the minors, with the highlight being in 2012, when he had an OPS of over 1.000. In 2013, Davis got the call, making the Opening Day roster for the first time in his career. He’d get his first plate appearance on Opening Day, pinch-hitting for pitcher John Axford, in which he grounded out.

Davis would only get into 56 games with the Brew Crew in 2013, but he was good with the stick when he did play. He’d end the year with a 156 OPS+. In all, Davis would play with the Brewers from 2013 to 2015. He hit 60 home runs in that span, with a 120 OPS+. With this, he started to cement himself as a true power bat, even though he was a limited player overall due to his poor defense.

.247 .247 .247 .247

In 2016, the Brewers decided they wanted to go with their younger players, and as such they didn’t have room on their roster. Milwaukee traded Davis to the Oakland Athletics for catcher Jacob Nottingham and pitcher Bubba Derby. Then-Brewers GM David Stearns said this of the trade at the time, “It’s tough trading a guy like Khris…This is a guy who had a really nice year last year, a really strong second half. But you have to part with value sometimes to get that high-impact value we’re looking for in return.”

Khris Davis proceeded to break out for the A’s, crushing over 40 homers a year from 2016 to 2018, earning his nickname “Khrush Davis.” In 2018, Davis led all of the majors with 48 home runs. During this run, he was the king of consistency. From 2015 to 2018, Davis had a .247 average. No, that wasn’t his average when you put together all of the years, that was his batting average every year for four years in a row. Davis was turning into an underrated star for the Oakland A’s. Davis would finish 2018 placing 8th in the AL MVP race.

The Beginning of the End

In 2019, Davis cashed in, with the A’s giving him a two-year $33.5 million extension. This contract was a huge show of confidence in Davis, as this was the only extension the A’s signed for the entire previous decade. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Davis began to struggle in 2019 for the first time in his career. While he still hit over 20 home runs that season, for the first time in his career, he had an OPS+ under 100. Davis would never return to form, and from 2019 to 2021, he’d average just nine dingers a year, with an 81 OPS+.

All told, Davis was quite the player. While he never won any awards, he was a fan favorite due to his power, and seeming wizardry to hit .247 year after year. He ends his career having hit 221 home runs and compiling 590 RBI. We here at Last Word on Sports wish Khris Davis the best, and want to congratulate him on a great career.

 

Photo Credit: © Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

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