Fake Guns, Weird Food

Today is the birthday of Willie Davis, born in Mineral Springs, Arkansas, 1940.

Though his 15-year major league career was filled with achievements(2x World Series Champ, 2x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove), Hollywood cameos, and more than a few odd stories, Davis is best remembered for a blistering stretch at the plate during the summer of 1969.

From the moment he joined the Dodgers in 1961, Davis had a habit of predicting that this would be the year he'd break out. In the spring of ’69, he boldly claimed he’d hit .400. By the end of July, he was batting just .260. Desperate for a spark, he adjusted his stance and borrowed a hefty 40-ounce bat from teammate Ken Boyer. Over the next month, Davis caught fire — hitting .459.

By early September, he had tied Zack Wheat’s franchise record of 29 consecutive games with a hit — a mark set in 1916, back when the team was still the Brooklyn Robins. On September 2nd, in the bottom of the fifth, Davis doubled to left-center off Mets pitcher Gary Gentry. The Dodger Stadium scoreboard lit up with a congratulatory telegram from Wheat: “Congratulations — keep going. You have done a real job.” Davis extended the streak to 31 games. It remains the Dodgers’ all-time record.

Davis would never reach as high a point in his career again. As his skills declined, his eccentricities became more visible. In 1975, he reported to Rangers training camp directly from a Los Angeles jail, where he’d been held for unpaid alimony. A practicing Buddhist and early adopter of yoga, Davis was known for his wiry frame and pregame chanting — which earned him the nickname “Stranger Ranger.” It didn’t last. He was traded to the Cardinals mid-season after a fistfight with manager Billy Martin.

Later, Davis headed to Japan in hopes of a fresh start. But his new teammates were unsettled by his constant chanting, and the harmony he’d hoped to find remained elusive.

It wasn’t until the early 2000s, after losing two decades to drug abuse, that Davis would finally find it. Back in the Dodgers organization, he’d deliver motivational speeches to young kids — urging them not to make the same mistakes he had. He died in 2010.

Captain America, Fake Guns, Weird Food

• King of the Shutout – We’ve shared a bit about how analytics are changing the way teams develop, train and deploy pitchers, and how that may reduce the frequency of true ‘pitching greatness’. Well, Michael King had his own counterpoint this past weekend with a 9-inning shutout against the Rockies. Touché.

• (Recent) History Repeats…Kind of – In Game 4 of the World Series last year, a Yankees fan ripped a ball out of Mookie Betts’ glove, got ejected from the game, and subsequently banned from the stadium. An oddly similar turn of events happened this past weekend as an Astros fan snagged a ball out of Mike Trout’s glove. The hit was ruled a foul, and he was ejected. Unlike the World Series incident, the fan immediately apologized — saying it was just a knee-jerk reaction. Trout took some time after the game to meet with the man and his son.

• Captain America – On Monday, Aaron Judge was named Team USA’s captain for the WBC.

• Jung Hoo Lee, Superstar? – Over the weekend Giants slugger Jung Hoo Lee hit two home runs to fuel a comeback win against the Yankees. Irresponsible to call him a superstar so early into his career. Yes. The Athletic indulges anyway.

• Weird Food, Fake Guns – The beautiful thing about baseball is that the fun isn’t only on the field. We present as evidence; red velvet affogato, cotton candy fries, and Georgia Tech MacGyvering a radar gun out of cups.

Jackie Robinson’s MLB Debut

• 1947 — Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Robinson’s debut challenged decades of segregation and forever changed the game. Today, every player across the league wears No. 42 on April 15th in tribute to his legacy.