Eric Davis '86-'87

[fredtoast]

Over the 2 year span 1986-'87 Vince Coleman was the only player to steal more bases than Davis's 130.

Davis' 64 HR ranked 8th, but the 7 players ahead of him all played at least 20 more games.  Davis missed 61 games or about one-fifth of those two seasons.  Eric's rate of home runs per game played (.245) was second only to George Bell's .248.

So basically, over a 2 year stretch Davis was the second biggest threat to steal a base or hit a home run.  If you project his per game production over 162 games you get 40 HR, 81 SB, 95 BB, 135 runs, and 107 RBI

And at the start of that '87 season Davis was still just TWENTY-FOUR years old.  It is not crazy hype to say he would have been one of the greatest players in history if he could have stayed healthy.

The thing I remember about Davis is the way he made everything look so easy.  He wasn't that big and he did not look like he was swinging from his heels, but he hit some monster shots.  And he was one of those outfielders who looked like he was just gliding but he could run down anything or leap over the wall to steal home runs.

[Stewy]

He was definitely a super star.  The way he waved the bat around in the batters box was so unorthodox, but he had such incredible bat speed, that it didn't matter.  

What we loved about him in the OF, was one of the reasons he couldn't stay healthy.  Like Ken Griffey jr, Eric gave it his all out there and damaged his body by diving and jumping for balls.

And this one of the greatest moments in Reds history.  It set the tone for the entire series, when the little Reds got up on the juiced yp Bash brother A's and swept them in 4.

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

Clipped from an MLB article from two years ago
https://www.mlb.com/news/eric-davis-put-up-video-game-stats-for-reds-c279109048
It is a long article covering his struggles as a young player still trying to prove he belongs before going on an insane run, his highlights through the run and his eventual crash back down to Earth with the rest of us mere humans. If you want to enjoy the article and it's many highlights, I've put his hitting stats further down the page to not spoil it for you but here are some teaser stats
From June 11, 1986 to July 4, 1987
Davis played in 162 games, starting 152
He got 659 plate appearances. It is basically a full year.























Over that stretch, Davis hit .308/.406/.622 with 47 homers, 149 runs, 123 RBIs and 98 stolen bases (getting caught just 12 times).

That's insane. That's like stealing second two out of every three singles or walks turning them into instant doubles. He was Billy Hamilton with the ability to hit for average and power. Amazing bat speed.

[Goalpost]

So many great things to remember. His baserunning was so dominant. In 8 years with the Reds, Eric stole at an 87 percent success rate.

[*bengalfan74*]

He had, for a small guy, such amazing wrist and forearm strength.

[Circleville Guy]

It was a thing of beauty to watch ED rob HR’s too, dude could time that jump!

[SunsetBengal]

(07-01-2020, 06:16 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: He had, for a small guy, such amazing wrist and forearm strength.

Would have hated to have been his child, getting paddled for doing wrong..

[Earendil]

Eric Davis was my favorite player in the 80s. I patterned by stance and swing after him.

[Truck_1_0_1_]

It's really too bad how much injuries did him in; he was a phenomenal talent and aside from a ridiculous amount of strikeouts, there wasn't a flaw in his game.

I really appreciated his 98 season, but it's too bad I wasn't alive to see his glory years in the 80s.

If he and Strawberry were healthy (and clean) when they were on the Dodgers, they could've really damaged opponents in the early 90s.