Chili Davis

Played For
San Francisco Giants (1981-1987)
California Angels (1988-1990)
Minnesota Twins (1991-1992)
California Angels (1993-1996)
Kansas City Royals (1997)
New York Yankees (1998-1999)

All-Time Rankings
Chili Davis ranks #10 among the Top 50 all-time at DH. Rankings ⇒

Best Season: 1991
In his first season with Minnesota, Davis hit 29 homers and had 93 RBI as the team's DH. Both figures were career highs at the time. He was in the top ten in slugging and OPS, and in the World Series he clubbed a pair of homers, one of them a game-winner.

Factoids
Chili Davis drove in 112 runs in 1993, the record for RBIs in a season without a sacrifice fly.

Born
Charles Theodore Davis was born on January 17, 1960, in Kingston

Batted:  Both
Threw:  Right

Primary Position:  OF

Primary Team:  CAL

Major League Debut
April 10, 1981

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1981
Cal Ripken Jr.
Gary Gaetti
Chili Davis
Brett Butler
Ryne Sandberg
Steve Bedrosian
Tom Brunansky
Kent Hrbek
Steve Sax

When he was 12 years old, Charles Davis received a terrible haircut, which earned him the unfortunate nickname "Chili Bowl." Later, it was shortened to "Chili."

Uniform Numbers
#30 (1981-1987), #24 (1988-1990), #44 (1991-1997), #45 (1998-1999)

Similar Players
None

Related Players
Fellow switch-hitter Eddie Murray, whom Davis modeled his swing after.

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 2005 BBWAA 3 .6%

Post-Season Appearances
1987 National League Championship Series
1991 American League Championship Series
1991 World Series
1998 American League Championship Series
1998 American League Divisional Series
1998 World Series
1999 American League Championship Series
1999 American League Divisional Series
1999 World Series

Milestones
On April 29, 1997, Davis belted his 300th home run, against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Batting Feats

• June 5, 1983: Switch HR same game...


• June 27, 1987: Switch HR same game...


• September 15, 1987: Switch HR same game...


• July 30, 1988: Switch HR same game...


• July 1, 1989: Switch HR same game...


• October 2, 1992: Switch HR same game...


• May 11, 1994: Switch HR same game...


• July 30, 1994: Switch HR same game...


• August 21, 1996: Switch HR same game...


• June 7, 1997: Switch HR same game...

Transactions
June 7, 1977: Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 11st round of the 1977 amateur draft; November 9, 1987: Granted Free Agency; December 1, 1987: Signed as a Free Agent with the California Angels; December 7, 1990: Granted Free Agency; January 29, 1991: Signed as a Free Agent with the Minnesota Twins; November 3, 1992: Granted Free Agency; December 11, 1992: Signed as a Free Agent with the California Angels; October 28, 1996: Traded by the Anaheim Angels to the Kansas City Royals for Mike Bovee and Mark Gubicza; October 29, 1997: Granted Free Agency; December 10, 1997: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees; December 1, 1999: Released by the New York Yankees.

All-Star Selections
1984 NL
1986 NL
1994 AL

Replaced
Davis stepped into a void as the Giants' center fielder in 1982. The previous full-time center fielder had been Billy North in 1980.

Replaced By
Chili's last regular job was as the Yankees' DH in 1999. He was released after the season, and New York used a number of players to fill that role in 2000, including Shane Spencer, Jose Canseco, and Glenallen Hill.

Best Strength as a Player
Power from both sides of the plate. In his career, Davis posted a .462 slugging percentage batting left-handed, and .440 right-handed.

Largest Weakness as a Player
Defense, though there is some evidence that Davis had a strong arm. But his range and judgment was terrible. In nearly 1,200 games in the outfield, he fielded a very poor .971.

Learn More about Chili Davis
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