Davis homers again, says he got Dodgers-fan dad a Giants hat originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
It took just a few days, but JD Davis has already converted his dad, Jonathan, from a Los Angeles Dodgers fan to a Giants fan.
After Davis homered in the Giants’ 7-3 win over the Athletics on Saturday night at the Oakland Coliseum, he told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Laura Britt, Shawn Estes and Carlos Ramirez that his dad has a new piece of orange and black swag.
“I finally graced him with a Giants hat, but he swore he was never going to buy one, so I had to get him one,” Davis said on “Giants Postgame Live” after the win. “I had to sneak him one for free. But he’s a lifelong Dodger fan. My grandma grew up down in Southern California, so it kind of rubbed off on him. As it went along, wherever his son goes, that’s his favorite team. So obviously he switched from the Dodgers. Now he’s a Giants fan. I’m blessed just to be out here and playing in front of some familiar faces and we got a W today.”
Davis was born and raised in Elk Grove, near Sacramento, but he did not root for either Bay Area team during his childhood because of the allegiances of his father and family.
When the Giants acquired Davis from the New York Mets ahead of the MLB trade deadline this past Tuesday, he immediately told reporters that he planned to buy his dad a jersey of his new team.
A hat will have to do, in this case.
The Mets traded the 29-year-old infielder in large part because he was struggling at the plate. But a change of scenery appears to have helped Davis, at least so far. In 66 games with New York, he slashed .238/.324/.359 with just four homers and 21 RBI. But he now already has three hits in 10 at-bats, including two homers.
“It’s been a dream come true,” Davis told Britt, Estes and Ramirez. “It’s definitely been … a whirlwind, going from the East Coast to the West Coast. Growing up over here, this is my hometown team, so it’s been pretty cool, pretty unbelievable. Me and my dad always talk about it, you know, just looking outside the hotel room and looking at Oracle [Park] and just being like ‘Wow, I’m actually playing here. As a kid, we grew up just two hours over in Sacramento, so we went to a lot of Giants games. Just to come over here, see it, reminisce and then just be playing on this field and wear this jersey, it’s been unbelievable.”
The Giants sent 36-year-old Darin Ruf to the Mets for three pitching prospects and Davis, who has two more years of contractual control, meaning the remainder of the 2022 MLB season is an audition for the former Elk Grove High star.
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In the win Saturday, he entered the game as a pinch-hitter as the A’s turned to lefty reliever Kirby Snead. The first pitch Davis saw landed 437 feet away as he hit back-to-back homers with LaMonte Wade Jr.
While Davis might get lots of chances to start for the Giants over the final two months of the season, if he can find success in a platoon role and as a bat off the bench like he did Saturday, he should have a bright future in San Francisco. And Davis’ dad will just have to get used to wearing orange black for the next few years.
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