George Davis (1998)


Date of Birth: 8/23/1870
Date of Death: 10/17/1940
Birthplace: Cohoes, New York

George Davis played amateur baseball in Albany, New York in 1886. Three years later, his contract was bought by the Cleveland Spiders of the National League, a team that folded in 1899.

Cleveland Spiders (NL)

Davis played center field for the Spiders for two seasons, leading the National League in outfield assists in his first season. In his rookie season (1890), Davis batted .264 with 139 hits, 22 doubles, 9 triples, and 22 stolen bases in 136 games.

Davis had a .289 batting average in 1891. He finished the season with 165 hits, 35 doubles, 12 triples, and 42 stolen bases in 136 games. The next year, he had 144 hits, 27 doubles, 12 triples, 36 stolen bases, and a .241 batting average in 144 games.

New York Giants

In 1893, the Spiders traded Davis to the New York Giants. In his first season with the Giants, he had career highs in hits (195), triples (27), and batting average (.355). He had a good second season in 1894, batting .352 with 168 hits, 26 doubles, 19 triples, and 40 stolen bases in 122 games.

Davis was made player-manager for the Giants in the first part of the 1895 season. He managed the team to 16 wins and 17 losses before being relieved of his managerial position. As a player in 110 games, he had 146 hits, a career high 36 doubles, 48 stolen bases, and a .340 batting average.

In 1897, Davis was made the regular shortstop for the Giants. That season, he led all NL shortstops in putouts with 339 and in double plays with 67. Offensively, he also had a good season, batting .353 with 183 hits, 31 doubles, and a career high 65 stolen bases in 130 games.

Davis batted .307 in 121 games in 1898. The next year, he played in only 108 games, but his batting average went up to .337. He had 149 hits and 20 doubles in 1898, and 140 hits and 21 doubles in 1899.

In 1900, Davis again was named player-manager of the Giants and this time he held the position for two seasons. He led the team to 91 wins and 122 losses. As a player, he batted .319 in 114 games in 1900, and .301 in 130 games in 1901.

Chicago White Sox

Following the 1901 season, Davis left the Giants and the NL for the Chicago White Sox. He played in 132 games in 1902, and he batted .299 with 145 hits and 27 doubles. He led all AL shortstops in double plays with 72.

After one season with the White Sox, Davis returned to the Giants but he played in just four games with them in 1903.

In 1904, Davis returned to the White Sox. That year, he played in a career high 152 games. He had 142 hits, 27 doubles, 15 triples, 32 stolen bases, and a .252 batting average. Although his offensive numbers were down, he played well defensively, leading the AL in assists with 514, and leading all AL shortstops in putouts wtih 347 and in double plays with 62.

Davis' batting average went up to .278 in 1905. He finished the season with 153 hits, 29 doubles, and 31 stolen bases in 151 games. He batted .277 in 133 games the following season.

Davis struggled offensively in 1907, batting just .238 with 111 hits in 132 games. He had even poorer numbers in 1908, when he batted just .217 with 91 hits.

Davis played in just 28 games in 1909, his final season in the major leagues.

Career Statistics

Davis played in over 100 games in each of 18 seasons (1890-1902, 1904-1908). His statistics during that time include:

  • 3 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 36 in 1895
  • 7 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 27 in 1893
  • 3 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 136 in 1897
  • 17 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with a high of 65 in 1897
  • 9 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .355 in 1893

Career batting statistics for Davis include:

  • 2,368 games played
  • 2,660 hits
  • 451 doubles
  • 163 triples
  • 1,437 RBIs
  • 616 stolen bases
  • 180 strikeouts to 870 walks
  • .295 batting average
  • .361 on-base percentage
  • .766 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Davis at shortstop include:

  • 1,374 games played
  • 4,794 assists
  • 590 double plays
  • 3,239 putouts
  • 511 errors
  • .940 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

After retiring from major league baseball in 1909, Davis became a player-manager for a minor league team in the Western League in 1910. He left that position in 1913 to become a coach at Amherst College. He stayed in that position through the 1918 season.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - George Davis
ESPN - George Davis
Baseball Reference - George Davis

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