1960
Born October 19, 1960
Livermore, CA, USA
Mark Davis Marquee
b. October 19, 1960 · Philadelphia Phillies 1980–1981, 1993, San Francisco Giants 1983–1987, San Diego Padres 1987–1989, 1993–1994, Kansas City Royals 1990–1992, Atlanta Braves 1992, Milwaukee Brewers 1997
He saved 44 games with a 1.85 earned run average for San Diego in 1989 and won the Cy Young Award with 19 of the 24 first-place votes. Kansas City signed him that winter for four years and $13 million, which was then the largest contract any pitcher had. In 1990 he saved six games with a 5.11 earned run average.
He never recovered it. Fifteen seasons gave him 96 saves, 51 wins and a 4.17 earned run average, and he pitched for six clubs, going back to the minor leagues twice. He had been a starting pitcher until San Francisco moved him at twenty-six.
He has coached pitchers in the Royals' and Diamondbacks' organizations for twenty years since. The 2003 ballot gave him one vote of 496.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 2 | 1988, 1989 |
| Cy Young Award | 1 | 1989 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 1 | 1989 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1989 |
| Reliever of the Year Award | 1 | 1989 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1989 |
| The Sporting News Fireman of the Year | 1 | 1989 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1989 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | PHI | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| 1981 | PHI | 9 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .091 |
| 1983 | SFG | 20 | 30 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | .133 |
| 1984 | SFG | 46 | 46 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 0 | .130 |
| 1985 | SFG | 77 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .250 |
| 1986 | SFG | 67 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .125 |
| 1987 | SDP/SFG | 64 | 30 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .233 |
| 1988 | SDP | 62 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | .200 |
| 1989 | SDP | 70 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .000 |
| 1990 | KCR | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | KCR | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | ATL/KCR | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1993 | PHI/SDP | 60 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 |
| 1994 | SDP | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | MIL | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 625 | 167 | 16 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 54 | 1 | .156 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | PHI | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2.57 |
| 1981 | PHI | 1 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 43.0 | 49 | 37 | 24 | 29 | 7.74 |
| 1983 | SFG | 6 | 4 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 111.0 | 93 | 43 | 50 | 83 | 3.49 |
| 1984 | SFG | 5 | 17 | 46 | 27 | 0 | 174.2 | 201 | 104 | 54 | 124 | 5.36 |
| 1985 | SFG | 5 | 12 | 77 | 1 | 7 | 114.1 | 89 | 45 | 41 | 131 | 3.54 |
| 1986 | SFG | 5 | 7 | 67 | 2 | 4 | 84.1 | 63 | 28 | 34 | 90 | 2.99 |
| 1987 | SDP/SFG | 9 | 8 | 63 | 11 | 2 | 133.0 | 123 | 59 | 59 | 98 | 3.99 |
| 1988 | SDP | 5 | 10 | 62 | 0 | 28 | 98.1 | 70 | 22 | 42 | 102 | 2.01 |
| 1989 | SDP | 4 | 3 | 70 | 0 | 44 | 92.2 | 66 | 19 | 31 | 92 | 1.85 |
| 1990 | KCR | 2 | 7 | 53 | 3 | 6 | 68.2 | 71 | 39 | 52 | 73 | 5.11 |
| 1991 | KCR | 6 | 3 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 62.2 | 55 | 31 | 39 | 47 | 4.45 |
| 1992 | ATL/KCR | 2 | 3 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 53.0 | 64 | 42 | 41 | 34 | 7.13 |
| 1993 | PHI/SDP | 1 | 5 | 60 | 0 | 4 | 69.2 | 79 | 33 | 44 | 70 | 4.26 |
| 1994 | SDP | 0 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 8.82 |
| 1997 | MIL | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 | 21 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 5.51 |
| Career | — | 51 | 84 | 624 | 85 | 96 | 1145.0 | 1068 | 530 | 534 | 1007 | 4.17 |
On this day & linked events
1980
Major-league debut: Mark Davis
Mark Davis made a major-league debut on September 12, 1980.
1997
Final major-league game: Mark Davis
Mark Davis played a final major-league game on September 28, 1997.
Image: Dealphungo, CC BY-SA 3.0