Why this card is awesome: Because Davis was a very nice Rule V pickup for the Cubs, as noted on the back. He was a pretty darn good catcher for a number of years in the 1980s.
Cool stat: From 1983 to 1987, just 4 catchers had at least 100 homers. You'd probably never have guessed Davis except for the fact that I'm bringing this up on his card. The other three are pretty easy, and they include two HOFers.
3 comments:
I still don't understand how Lance isn't even considered for the hall....
He and Blyleven should be in the hall!
Well, over the course of his career as a regular (1979 - 1991), he ranks 4th in OPS+ behind 2 HOFers and 1 non-HOFer:
1. Gary Carter, 117
2. Darrell Porter, 115
3. Carlton Fisk, 111
4. Lance Parrish, 109
Carter's prime started 2 years before that time period so his productivity is essentially 2 years greater than Parrish's. Of course, Fisk played forever (and his most productive years were actually in the 70s, before this time period).
To his credit, Parrish led catchers in this time period in HRs (287). I'd say he's a safe choice for 3rd best catcher of the 1980s. Do the top 3 catchers of the 1980s deserve the HOF, or only the top 2? I'd say there's a substantial gap between #2 and #3 in this case.
But this is supposed to be about Jody Davis so ... I'll point out that Parrish, Fisk, and Davis were the prototypical low-OBP, high-HR catchers of the 1980s, finishing 1-2-3, respectively in HRs for catchers with OBP below .320.
Whew!
Harry Caray would sing about this guy (set to the tune of "Davy Crockett")
Jo-DEEEEEE, Jody Davis
King of the Cubs this year
Post a Comment