In celebration of Black History Month, throughout February, teams across Minor League Baseball are taking a look back at five of the best Black players to suit up for their club.
While some of these standout performers went on to long and illustrious Major League careers, others simply had great Minor League careers or, in some cases, just one incredible season that went down as “a year for the ages.”
After taking a look back at the career of LHP Shane Youman, now we take a look at outfielder Rajai Davis.
OF Rajai Davis (2005)
Pittsburgh found a diamond in the rough late in the 2001 MLB Amateur draft when the Pirates selected outfielder Rajai Davis in the 38th round out of Division-III UConn-Avery Point. Davis, a native of nearby New London, CT, used blazing speed to become one of the best outfielders in the Pirates minor league system and quickly rose to prominence for his exploits on the base paths combined with a patient, contact-oriented approach at the plate.
By the time Davis arrived in Altoona for the 2005 campaign, he already had a pair of 40 stolen base seasons under his belt and had established himself as a .300 hitter at the lower levels of the Pirates minor league system. Davis kept the good times rolling with the Curve and combined with Rich Thompson to create havoc on the basepaths. Davis and Thompson both stole 45 bases during the 2005 season, tops in the Eastern League, to lead Altoona to a third straight playoff appearance. Named to the Eastern League All-Star team, the Curve missed Davis’ presence in the postseason after he was placed on the Injured List in late-August and missed the rest of the campaign. Davis finished his lone season in Altoona with a team-best 140 hits and 82 runs scored in 123 games played.
Davis’ speed combined with his contact-oriented approach at the plate would serve him well as he went on to a 14-year major league career with Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Oakland, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland, Boston and the New York Mets. Davis made his major league debut on August 14, 2006 with a pinch-hit appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers in a 4-2 Pirates victory. Like many young players, his first two seasons in the majors saw him shuttle back and forth between the major league club and Triple-A. Davis totaled 44 games in a Pirates uniform, batting .242 with three doubles, one triple and six stolen bases, and his speed allowed him to make highlight reel plays in the outfield. As the trade deadline arrived in the summer of 2007, the San Francisco Giants came calling and acquired Davis, along with a player to be named later, for righty Matt Morris. Davis played 51 games down the stretch of the 2007 season for San Francisco and batted .282 with 17 stolen bases. His performance helped establish him as a reliable contributor in the outfield that would put him in demand at the major league level.
Davis moved to the American League and into a starting role with the Oakland Athletics after they claimed him off waivers prior to the 2008 campaign. While patrolling center field for the A’s for three seasons, he compiled a .283 average and stole 120 bases in 381 games. Davis went on to spend three seasons in Toronto before advancing to the postseason for the first time in his major league career with Detroit in 2014. Led by a veteran core at the plate with future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera in the middle of the order, Davis combined to man center field with Austin Jackson and helped lead the Tigers to an AL Central Division title.
Despite a sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles in the 2014 Division Series, Davis would soon write his name into the history books when found himself back in the thick of the playoff chase with AL Central rival Cleveland in 2016. On July 2, 2016, Davis became the eighth player in Major League history to hit for the cycle in reverse. Facing off against his former teammates in Toronto, Davis homered to lead off the game, tripled in the third inning, doubled in the sixth and singled in the ninth to finish off the cycle. As the Indians surged to their first World Series appearance since 1997, Davis played a massive role in the Fall Classic; a seven-game thriller with the Chicago Cubs. With Cleveland trailing by two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and just four outs away from elimination, Davis swatted a 2-2 offering from Chicago’s Aroldis Chapman over the wall in left field to tie the game at 6-6. The Cubs went on to win break the Curse of the Billy Goat with a victory in extra innings.
Following the heartbreaking loss in the 2016 World Series, Davis signed a free agent deal with the Oakland Athletics and found himself back in the postseason the very next year as an extra outfielder for the Boston Red Sox after they acquired him up at the 2017 Trade Deadline. Despite making just one plate appearance in the postseason, Davis complimented Jackie Bradley Jr. in center field providing a right-handed platoon and maintained a veteran presence in the clubhouse that had several young stars including Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers.
Davis’ 14-year major league career wrapped up following another season with Cleveland in 2018 and the New York Mets in 2019. All told he played in 1,448 major league games batting .262 with 62 home runs, 387 runs batted in and 415 stolen bases. Prior to the 2021 season, Davis accepted a role with Major League Baseball as Senior Director, On-Field Operations overseeing the Northeast region.