Tommy Davis' Significant Role in Making the New York Mets Winners

The 1967 New York Mets were an offensively challenged team. They scored 498 runs to average about 3.07 runs a game and were one of four National League teams with fewer than 100 home runs.

Tommy Davis was the Mets' top hitter, batting .302/.342/.440 with 16 home runs and 73 RBI. The problem was that Davis was a liability on defense. Still, he played 154 games because he could hit.

The Mets acquired Davis in Nov. 1966 from the Los Angeles Dodgers. They sent outfielder Jim Hickman and second baseman Ron Hunt to Los Angeles in exchange for Davis and infielder Derrell Griffith.

Davis played a significant role in Mets history because after the 1967 season, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Tommie Agee and Al Weis, each of whom would play major roles for the 1969 team.

One of Davis' best days with the Mets occurred in a double-header against the Atlanta Braves on May 28 at Shea Stadium.

Davis had six hits, getting four hits in four at-bats in the opener, including a home run and two doubles while driving in five runs in the Mets' 6-3 win. Davis also stole a base.

He followed that with two more hits in the nightcap, including another home run as the Mets lost, 7-3.

Joe Torre, who would manage the Mets during the late 1970s and the New York Yankees in the late 1990s, matched Davis' first-game performance with his own in the second game. Torre went 3-for-3 and drove in three runs as the Braves gained a split.

Davis was an outstanding hitter, but we will never know how great he might have been if he hadn't broken his ankle on May 1, 1965 in a game against the San Francisco Giants. He played only 17 games that season and lost some of his power after the injury.

In 1962 and again in 1962, Davis was the National League batting champion. Prior to the broken ankle, he batted .304/.338/.451, averaging 20 home runs over a 162-game season. He finished his career batting .294/.329/.405, averaging only 12 home runs over a 162-game season.