Age: 28
3rd season
with Padres (2nd complete)
Bats – Left, Throws
– Left
Height: 6’3” Weight: 180
Prior to 1989:
A California
native, Davis came out of Granada Hills High School and was chosen by the
Philadelphia Phillies in the first round of the 1979 amateur draft. With
Spartanburg of the Class A Western Carolinas League in ’79 he was 11-9 with a
3.20 ERA in 26 starts. Advancing to Reading of the Class AA Eastern League in
1980, Davis had an outstanding season as he produced a 19-6 record with a 2.47
ERA and 185 strikeouts in 193 innings pitched, leading the league in wins, ERA,
strikeouts, and innings pitched. He earned a September call-up to the Phillies
where he appeared in two games and started the season finale, and did not
produce a decision in his seven innings of major league action. Davis moved on
to Oklahoma City of the Class AAA American Association in 1981 and was 5-2 with
a 3.88 ERA in 13 starts. Called up to the Phillies in August he started 9 games
and had a 1-4 record with a 7.74 ERA. It was back to Oklahoma City in 1982
where Davis was a mediocre 5-12 with a 6.24 ERA in 19 starts. After the season
he was traded to the San Francisco Giants along with RHP Mike Krukow and a
minor leaguer for second baseman Joe Morgan and LHP Al Holland. Starting the
’83 season with Phoenix in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and recovering
from a sore arm, Davis was 6-3 in 13 starts before being Inserted into San
Francisco’s starting rotation where he produced a 6-4 record with a 3.49 ERA in
20 starts. He had a dreadful year in 1984, compiling a 5-17 tally for the 66-96
Giants while appearing in 46 games, 27 of them starts with a 5.36 ERA. As a
reliever in 1985, Davis appeared in 77 games and produced a 5-12 record with 7
saves and a 3.54 ERA. The Giants rose to third place in 1986 largely due to
improved pitching that included Davis, who appeared in 67 games and was 5-7
with a 2.99 ERA. Midway through the 1987 season Davis was part of a
seven-player deal with the Padres that brought OF/3B Kevin Mitchell to San
Francisco. Taking up residence in San
Diego’s bullpen, Davis appeared in a total of 63 games (20 with the Giants and
43 with the Padres) and was 9-8 with a 3.99 ERA. Making best use of his hard
curve and fastball, manager Larry Bowa chose to make Davis the bullpen closer
in 1988 and he came through with 28 saves and a 2.01 ERA, garnering an All-Star
selection along the way.
1989 Season Summary
Appeared in 70 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 70 [6,
tied with Craig Lefferts]
Games Started –
0
Complete Games
– 0
Wins – 4
Losses – 3
PCT - .571
[Non-qualifying]
Saves – 44 [1]
Shutouts – 0
Innings Pitched
– 92.2
Hits – 66
Runs – 21
Earned Runs – 19
Home Runs – 6
Bases on Balls
– 31
Strikeouts – 92
ERA – 1.85
[Non-qualifying]
Hit Batters – 2
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 8
[12, tied with five others]
League-leading saves
were +8 ahead of runner-up Mitch Williams
Midseason
Snapshot: 2-3, ERA - 2.68, G – 34, SV – 22, SO - 47 in 43.2 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 4 (in.1.2 IP) at LA Dodgers 6/28
10+ strikeout
games – 0
Batting
PA – 13, AB – 13,
R – 0, H – 0, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 7, SB – 0, CS – 0,
AVG - .000, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0
Fielding
Chances – 15
Put Outs – 1
Assists – 11
Errors – 3
DP – 0
Pct. - .800
Awards & Honors:
NL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
NL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
6th
in NL MVP voting (76 points, 23% share)
NL Cy Young
voting (Top 5):
Mark Davis, SD:
107 pts. – 19 of 24 first place votes, 89% share
Mike Scott, Hou.:
65 pts. – 4 first place votes, 54% share
Greg Maddux,
ChiC.: 17 pts. – 14% share
Orel Hershiser,
LAD: 7 pts. – 1 first place vote, 6% share
Joe Magrane,
StL.: 7 pts. – 6% share
---
Padres went 89-73
to finish second in the NL Western Division, 3 games behind the
division-winning Los Angeles Dodgers. The slow-starting Padres caught fire in
the final six weeks of the season, going 29-10 in that stretch to briefly
contend in September.
Aftermath of ‘89:
A highly-sought
free agent in the offseason, Davis signed a four-year $13 million contract with
the Kansas City Royals. He had a disastrous season in 1990, saving only 6 games
while losing his closer role to Jeff Montgomery. He posted a 5.11 ERA in 53
appearances. The situation was no better in 1991, when he went 6-3 with a 4.45
ERA while appearing in 29 games. Midway through the 1992 season Davis was
traded to the Atlanta Braves, with continued ineffective results. He returned
to the Phillies via trade in 1993 only to be released in July after compiling a
1-2 record with a 5.17 ERA in 25 appearances. He then signed with the Padres
but was unable to recover the old magic and was released in May of ’94, sitting
out until an unsuccessful trial with the Brewers in 1997. Overall for his major
league career, Davis appeared in 624 games and had a 51-84 record with 96 saves
and a 4.17 ERA. Most of his success came with San Diego, where he compiled 78
saves. Davis became a pitching coach following his playing career.
--
Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of
the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to
present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its
inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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