Russell Stuart Davis (born September 13, 1969) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

, and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

from 1994 to 2001.

Career

Davis attended

Hueytown High School Hueytown High School is a four-year public high school in the Birmingham, Alabama suburb of Hueytown. It is one of fourteen high schools in the Jefferson County School System. Hueytown competes in AHSAA Class 6A athletics. According to the websi ...

in Hueytown, Alabama, graduating in 1987. He played for the school's baseball team as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

, but did not receive much interest from

(MLB) teams because he weighed . He enrolled at

Shelton State Community College Shelton State Community College is a public community college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Operated by the Alabama State Department of Postsecondary Education, Shelton is one of the largest two-year colleges in the state. Approximately 4,500 students ...

. Playing as a shortstop for Shelton State's

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

team in 1988, Davis had a .347

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 14

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 46

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs). He also gained weight, reaching . The

selected Davis in the 29th round of the 1988 MLB draft. He signed with the Yankees and reported to the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseba ...

. In Minor League Baseball, Davis became a

. He batted .285 with 22 home runs and 71 RBIs for the

Albany-Colonie Yankees The Albany-Colonie Yankees were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Eastern League from 1983 to 1994. They were located in Colonie, New York, and played their home games at Heritage Park. The team was known as the Albany A ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League in the 1992 season, and was subsequently named the league's most valuable player. However, Davis was blocked at third base with the Yankees by

Wade Boggs Wade Anthony Boggs (born June 15, 1958) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the New York Yankees (1993-1997), and the Tamp ...

. He spent the 1993 season and most of the 1994 season with the Columbus Clippers of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League. He made his major league debut in July 1994, but spent one week with the Yankees before returning to Columbus. Davis began the 1995 season with Columbus, but played for the Yankees from May 6 to 27, and was called up again on June 12. He hit his first major league home run against

David Wells David Lee Wells (born May 20, 1963) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Boomer", Wells was considered on ...

on June 28, 1995. In December 1995, the Yankees traded Davis and Sterling Hitchcock to the

for

Tino Martinez Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1990 t ...

, Jeff Nelson, and

Jim Mecir James Jason Mecir (born May 16, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for five teams over an 11-year career between and . Mecir is notable for having overcome a birth defect (namely club feet) to become an effect ...

. On June 7, 1996, Davis broke his leg, ending his season. In 1997, Davis batted .271 with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs in 119 total games. In 1998, Davis set a Mariners franchise record for errors committed. He led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

with 34 errors. He also hit 20 home runs with 82 RBIs in 141 games. On July 17, 1999, Davis hit the first ever home run at

Safeco Field T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western ...

. For the 1999 season, Davis batted .245 with 21 home runs and 59 RBIs in 124 games, while committing only 12 errors. Davis became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the 1999 season, and the Mariners opted not to offer Davis a new contract. The

signed Davis to a minor league contract in January 2000. Davis was a backup to third baseman

Bill Mueller William Richard Mueller ( ; born March 17, 1971) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Mueller's MLB playing career was spent with the San Francisco Giants (1996–2000, 2002), Chic ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

J. T. Snow for the Giants during the 2000 season. The Giants traded Mueller to the Chicago Cubs after the 2000 season and re-signed Davis. He started the 2001 season as the Giants' starting third baseman, with

Pedro Feliz Pedro Julio Feliz (born April 27, 1975), is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, and St. Louis Cardinals. Feliz hi ...

backing him up. Davis struggled in 2001, and was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

in June.

Personal life

Davis met his wife, Adryne, while they attended high school. They married on December 30, 1993, and had three children. Adryne died in 2012 from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

. Davis' father played in Minor League Baseball for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

organization.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Russ 1969 births Living people Baseball players from Alabama Major League Baseball third basemen New York Yankees players Seattle Mariners players San Francisco Giants players Gulf Coast Yankees players Oneonta Yankees players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Prince William Cannons players Albany-Colonie Yankees players Columbus Clippers players Hueytown High School alumni Shelton State Buccaneers baseball players