Former Dodgers outfielder, batting champion Tommy Davis dies at 83
Longtime Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Tommy Davis died on Sunday, the team announced on Monday morning.
He was 83.
The Dodgers are saddened to hear about the passing of two-time NL batting champion Tommy Davis. Our thoughts are with his friends and family. pic.twitter.com/GtgsLeCzQN
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 4, 2022
The cause of death is not known. Davis, according to The Los Angeles Times, died at his Phoenix home with his family at his bedside.
Davis spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball, starting with the Dodgers in 1959. He played his first eight seasons in Los Angeles and helped it win the 1963 World Series. He won back-to-back NL batting titles in 1962 and 1963, too. He then bounced around the next decade before he retired in 1976. Davis also played for the Mets, White Sox, Seattle Pilots, Astros, A’s, Cubs, Orioles, Angels and Royals.
Davis still holds the Dodgers single season hits record, with 230, and RBI record, with 153.
The Brooklyn native ended his career with more than 2,100 hits, more than 1,000 RBIs and 153 home runs with a .294 career batting average. He was reportedly going to originally sign with the Yankees in 1956 before Dodgers star Jackie Robinson called him and changed his mind.
“My mother wondered who was calling,” Davis said in 2019 of the call, via USA Today. “I pointed to the receiver and mouthed the words, ‘IT’S JACKIE ROBINSON!’ I couldn’t believe I was speaking to one of my heroes, although I don’t remember doing much talking.”
