Jay Davis (born October 3, 1970, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

) is a former

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

player. He played seven seasons as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

with the

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league penn ...

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League () and KBO Futures League ( (F ...

. Davis had the longest career of a foreign player in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

, achieving the highest

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 ...

(minimum 2,000 at-bats) in that category, as well as the most runs scored, the most hits, the most

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

, and the most

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

of any foreign-born player.

Career

Davis was the 318th pick overall of the 1989 June Amateur Draft, chosen out of Rezin Orr High School by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. He spent ten years in the minor leagues, never making it to the Majors. In 1999, Davis left for Korea and the

. He and fellow American import

Dan Rohrmeier Daniel Rohrmeier (born September 27, 1965) is a former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners in , and in the Korea Baseball Organization from to for the Hanwha Eagles and LG Twins. Roh ...

, as well as Koreans Song Ji-man and

Chang Jong-hoon Chang Jong-hoon (born April 10, 1968) is a retired former infielder in the KBO League. He spent his entire 20-year career with Binggrae/Hanwha Eagles. He is currently a coach with the team. Chang was a two-time KBO MVP, and led the league in ...

, led the Eagles to the 1999

Korean Series The Korean Series () is the final championship series of the KBO League. It has been held since the KBO League's first season in and is the final series of the post-season play-offs. From to 2013, the winner of the Korean Series went on to play ...

championship; the team had a slugging percentage of .487, the highest team total in KBO League history. Davis contributed with a

slash line This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

of .328/.376/.570 with 30 homers, 35 stolen bases, 93 runs, and 106 RBI. His was the seventh-best batting average in the KBO League that year, and tops for all foreign-born players. In 2000, Davis' .334 batting average was fifth-best in the league; he added 22 home runs and 21 stolen bases. Davis' 2001 season continued the trend, with a slash line of 335/.406/.558 to accompany 30 home runs, 95 runs, and 96 RBI. Davis finished fifth in the KBO League in batting average, and his 166 hits were one behind league leader Lee Byung-kyu. In 2002 Davis hit only .287 with 21 home runs; he still led all American-born players in the KBO in batting average. After four successful seasons with the Eagles, Davis played the 2003 season in the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He returned to Korea and the Eagles for the 2004–2006 seasons. His 2004 season featured a .323 batting average, 24 homers, and a league-leading 90 runs scored (tying

Park Yong-taik Park Yong-taik (; born April 21, 1979) is a South Korean outfielder who has played his entire career for the LG Twins in the KBO League. With 2,504 career hits, he is the all-time career hit leader in the KBO. He bats left-handed and throws righ ...

). With a .323 batting average, 24 home runs, and 86 RBI, Davis earned a 2005

KBO League Golden Glove Award The KBO League Golden Glove Award is an award given out annually by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to the best overall player at each position in the KBO League. It is also commonly known as the KBO Golden Gloves. The award was established i ...

. That year he passed

Tyrone Woods Walter Tyrone Woods (born August 16, 1969 is an American professional baseball player. He played five seasons with the Korea Baseball Organization then six further seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, primarily as a first baseman. Career M ...

for the longest KBO career by a foreigner, and he also broke Woods' record for career RBI by a foreigner. In 2006, Davis hit .284 with 21 home runs. In Davis' seven seasons with the Eagles, he compiled a .313 batting average, 167 home runs, and 591 runs batted in.Kwon Sang-Soo
"Foreign hitters full of surprises,"
''Korea JoongAng Daily'' (March 24, 2014).

References

External links

*
"Slugging It Out in South Korea: The Best Foreign Hitters in KBO History — 2016 Update,"
''Burly's Baseball Musings'' (Oct. 9, 2016).
"Foreign Players Struggling in Korean Baseball League,"
''The Dong-a Ilbo'' (May. 16, 2009). {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jay 1970 births Living people Baseball players from Chicago American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Hanwha Eagles players Kingsport Mets players Columbia Mets players St. Lucie Mets players Binghamton Mets players Norfolk Tides players Tucson Toros players Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings players Cafeteros de Córdoba players Sultanes de Monterrey players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players St. Paul Saints players