Khris Davis can’t wait to play in front of Texas Rangers fans, make it rain on them
Khris Davis told the reporter asking him what went wrong last season with the Oakland A’s that the questions needed to be more specific.
Davis, acquired Saturday by the Texas Rangers, didn’t know where to start.
Among myriad reasons, he spoke most in-depth Tuesday afternoon about the effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on him. It was lonely as he played out the 60-game season, both when isolated at home and in hotels by MLB’s health protocols but also without fans.
The social injustices throughout the country and even the death of Kobe Bryant made it difficult for Davis to get going.
But a player who said he feeds off the energy in a ballpark, even at the often sparsely attended Oakland Coliseum, said the ban on fans helped contribute to his meager showing in 2020.
“It’s hard to not go out there and have a heavy heart when you’re so sad about what’s going on in the world,” Davis said. “I play with a big heart, and it was lost out there because the fans weren’t out there. You can’t feed of them.
“So, it was a very cold year, I would explain. That’s what it is. You have to adapt to it, you’ve got to find a way to make it through somehow. I feel like I pushed on like everybody else, and I’m glad to be here right now.”
The Rangers acquired Davis, catcher Jonah Heim and minor-league right-hander Dane Acker from Oakland for Andrus, catcher Aramis Garcia and $13.5 million. Davis, relegated mostly to designated hitter, hit only two homers and batted just .200.
Fans were permitted into Globe Life Field for the MLB postseason rounds at the new $1.2 billion ballpark, and the Rangers expect to have fans in attendance this season.
Davis said he views the trade as a fresh start as he enters his final year before free agency. The Rangers will pay him $16.75 million this season, and they expect that he will be a productive player for them.
Davis said that he needs to get right again, as he was when he hitting at least 42 homers a season from 2016-2018.
So, what’s right in his mind?
“It’s to be raining the league with home runs,” Davis said. “It’s been a while. I can’t lie to you. I don’t know the future ahead of me. But everybody knows how I hurt them. I know what I’m here to do.”
Of Davis’ 218 career home runs, 32 have been against the Rangers.
