Former A's, Rangers, Brewers Slugger Calls it a Career

Jason Burke | May 13, 2024

Sep 27, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Oakland Athletics designated hitter Khris Davis (11) takes / Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

Mr. .247 himself, Khris Davis, has officially called it a career. In a fascinating interview with Bob Nightengale of USA Today, it's revealed that Davis, not wanting to just sit at home at the age of 36, instead went to the Arizona Automotive Institute for one year, graduated, and is now looking to become a mechanic.

After putting pitches in a casket, he's checking the oil gasket.

Davis was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009, debuted in 2013, and remained with the club until 2015. That offseason he was traded to the Oakland A's in exchange for Jacob Nottingham and Bubba Derby in one of the better A's trades in recent memory.

In his first three seasons with Oakland, he destroyed 133 baseballs, leading the league in home runs in 2018 with 48, and finished 22nd in the AL MVP voting in 2017, and 8th in 2018. He was a big reason many fans tuned in during that rebuild. He's also one of the very few players to ever receive an extension from John Fisher.

Davis signed a two-year, $33.5 million deal in 2019 that was supposed to keep him in the green and gold through the 2021 season. Instead, after the team refused to pay Marcus Semien in free agency or even extend him a qualifying offer, the A's needed a shortstop for the 2021 season since they still had a large portion of their core group that included Matt Chapman and Matt Olson. They were also coming off their first playoff series win since the 2006 season when they reached the ALCS.

To secure a shortstop, the A's decided to trade Davis, who hadn't been his slugging self since a run-in with the left field wall in Pittsburgh back in 2019. They found a partner in the Texas Rangers, who provided the A's with their own franchise shortstop, Elvis Andrus, and also paid for nearly half of his $14.25 million salary, along with all of Davis' $16.75 million salary. The A's also lost catcher Jonah Heim in that deal, and Heim has gone on to become an All Star backstop.

Davis was released by the Rangers that June, and signed as a free agent with the A's, getting into 20 games with the team down the stretch. He played his final game at the age of 33.

Most baseball fans will remember him for being the guy that hit .247 on the nose for four straight seasons. A's fans will likely remember him for the absolute dominance he exerted over the Rangers. In 82 games played against Texas, he hit .271 with a .357 OBP and 32 home runs in 339 plate appearances. In other words, he was an absolute menace that was also on pace for 64 home runs over a full season.

In some respects, Davis embodied what it meant to play for the A's across generations. He wasn't the biggest guy, or the brightest star in the game, but when he went out on the field, he excelled at his job. He didn't receive much national acclaim for his exploits, but the fans in Oakland, as they always do, wrapped their arms around him and deemed him one of their own.