After being traded to the New York Mets by the Houston Astros last January, J.D. Davis became a breakout star for the 2019 Mets. The 26-year-old slugger quickly became a fan-favorite for his long home runs and exuberant antics in the dugout.
This offseason, Davis has come into a little bit of hot water though as his name is one of many tied to one of the biggest scandals we have seen in baseball over the past decade.
Unfortunately it is guilt by association for Davis, as he was part of the now infamous 2017 Houston Astros that won the World Series with the aid of a sign-stealing scandal.
In December, Davis shrugged off questions regarding the sign-stealing scandal pleading his own innocence by claiming to have been oblivious of anything shady going on.
“I have no idea, I was kind of the freshman among the seniors,” Davis said. “I have no idea what was going on or what’s really happening. That is MLB’s investigation.
“I wasn’t aware of anything and even if there was I wish I would have known, because I batted only .180 or .200 or something like that, but I really have no clue.”
Davis received a World Series ring for his contributions to that Astros team, although they were minimal.
Making his MLB debut on August 5, 2017, Davis played just 24 games for Houston that year.
While he struck out 20 times in his 62 at-bats and hit a paltry .226/.279/.484, Davis was far better at home that year like many Astros batters. Davis hit .290 in 11 games played in Houston that season.
Now that the curtain has been drawn on the magnitude of the Astros cheating, Davis is changing his tune and acknowledging his involvement with that team.
Speaking with reporters at the Mets Spring Training facility in Port St. Lucie on Friday, Davis showed remorse for his actions as part of the Astros.
“Not only the fans want the game to be fair, I know you guys (the media) want it to be fair as well. You want to cover a game that is fair to everybody and to the peers as well,” Davis said. “Everybody that is part of the 2017 Astros feel regrettable about that decision.”
Frankly for a player that only spent a few months in that clubhouse and was left off the postseason roster, Davis expressed more contrition in that statement than some of the main culprits that are still on the Astros.
While some will draw a line in the sand against anyone who cheats the game of baseball, there are certainly degrees to the level of culpability in this situation.
Davis was a 24-year-old rookie that was trying to make it in the big leagues for the first time and certainly did not have the clout to rock the boat and put an end to the sign-stealing scandal himself.
As it pertains to the Mets, new outfielder Jake Marisnick had a far bigger stake in the Astros sign-stealing scandal, having spent the entirety of the 2017 season on the Astros major league roster.
