The New York Mets acquired infielder/outfielder J.D. Davis from the Houston Astros this past offseason for a trio of prospects.
Davis, 26, had cups of coffee with the Astros in both 2017 and 2018, but failed to stick with the big club. However, while in the minors last season, he clubbed 17 home runs and hit to a triple slash line of .342/.406/.583 over 85 games.
Hitting for power has never been an issue for Davis, who has clubbed 118 home runs between the minors and majors in his pro career.
However, a lofty strikeout and ground ball rate had limited the Astros from ever giving him an extended shot.
When new Mets’ general manager Brodie Van Wagenen took office this past offseason, he pulled the trigger for Davis, who made the team’s Opening Day roster and has stuck with the team since.
While his defense has been spotty, Davis has been a contributor at the dish, as he’s hit nine long balls and hit to a .283/.346/.475 clip.
With the trade deadline approaching and the Mets likely to ship off veteran Todd Frazier and his expiring contract, Davis could see even more regular playing time at the hot corner.
On June 14, I had the opportunity to talk to Davis one-on-one at P.S. 019 Marino Jeantet School in Corona, Queens, where he teamed up with the FDNY and The Hartford to educate students on fire safety.
Piersall: Just to start off, I have to know what the story is behind your nickname being “Bubbles.”
Davis: Ha! It was something in freshman year of college. It was more of a fat-shaming thing than anything. I came in a little bit overweight and I was just being a bubble butt and everything, but I lost that nickname junior year and was just cut short to “Bubs.” It was kind of a (Cal-State Fullerton) thing, an in-house thing. One of the reporters got a hold of the “Bubbles” thing, but it is fun to still have a glue to that program and still go back there and have that nickname.
Piersall: This year for Players Weekend, will that be the name on the back of your jersey, or will you be using an animal nickname like the rest of the team has?
Davis: Haha, no, I won’t be using Bubbles. And my animal nickname is the Badger. Pete Alonso gave me the Badger because I don’t care and I guess the Badger doesn’t care either, so you’d have to ask Pete about that one.
Piersall: When you were a kid, how did you get into baseball? Was it something your parents enjoyed?
Davis: Yeah, my dad was a huge baseball fan. It ran in the blood. I picked up a bat when I was 3-years-old, 2-years-old. I started playing when I was 4 with a bunch of 5-year-olds. I was exposed at an early age and just loved it and kept going with it. It was fun and was a nice father and son connection. Then it really took off around high school.
Piersall: Is that around the time you realized you had professional ambitions?
Davis: Yeah, absolutely. I knew that I needed to focus on one sport midway through high school and it ended up turning out pretty good.
Piersall: When you went to Cal-State Fullerton, you closed out games. Even in professional, you’ve pitched a little bit, and I’ve heard you can even get up to 94 mph. Is there any talk that you are going to pitch this year, or is it something that you are considering going forward at all?
Davis: No, not at all. I’m not looking forward to pitching. If they call my name, hopefully, it’s a situation where we are beating them by 10 or hopefully not, but losing by 10. But no, I have no desire to pitch at all. If they need me to go out there and throw an inning though, why not.
Piersall: A few weeks ago, you hit a clutch home run against Wander Suero of the Washington Nationals. Earlier that day, (manager) Mickey Callaway had raved about how you and Dominic Smith have been forces off the bench. Is it hard not being able to play every day, and how are you able to stay locked in coming off the bench cold like that and actually perform?
Davis: Absolutely. I think in general, it’s hard for people who even play every day to have success, so it’s even harder to come off the bench and do something productive for the team. We try to get our swings during the game in the cage and work with our assistant hitting coach Tom Slater and Rafi who is a left-handed batting practice thrower, who I pretty much work with because I come in facing lefties.
But yeah, it’s difficult. There’s no sugarcoating it, but at the same time, there are no excuses when you fail. The team is expecting you to go up there and put up a good at-bat, but yeah, the thing we try to do is keep it loose. Pinch hitting is hard, but you have to just try and stay ready and perform when your name is called.
Piersall: When you were in the Houston Astros organization, you had a couple cups of coffee in 2017 and 2018. Coming over to the Mets, you had more of a regular role and have had more of an opportunity to get regular playing time in the majors. How has that been so far? Is there a comfortability that comes with knowing you are probably going to stay with the team for the long haul?
Davis: Absolutely. It goes for anybody when you know you are Plan C, or Plan D or an insurance policy when Alex Bregman is the starter and Marwin Gonzalez was the utility guy. It was tough, but I was a sponge over there and learned a lot from those guys. They knew how to be professionals and come to the park every day and get their work in.
I just tried to emulate them or gather some stuff that would help me with any direction I go in my career.
But when you are comfortable, you’re part of the team and part of the family, it helps out a little bit that you don’t have to try so hard. You don’t have to fight for your life every fourth or fifth day, or wherever you get in just to get a hit to try and make a good impression and try and get your timing and get used to big league pitching when you sit on the bench for four or five days.
I remember when I got called up in September, after hitting .340 on the year, I sat on the bench for 16 to 18 straight days and it was tough, but they had some guys that were coming back and they were in the race with Seattle and the A’s. So for a young guy, it didn’t feel that much like a promotion, but just to be exposed to those guys was a huge benefit for me going forward in my career and how to get ready.
Piersall: You didn’t get a lot of playing time with the Astros as you mentioned, but you were around a championship team in 2017. Coming over to the Mets, what mentality do you bring to the club coming from playing alongside guys who won the World Series?
Davis: I just take a few things I’ve learned from over there and how they are, but all of us young guys we rave about it. We rave about the situation that we are in. There’s been a trend with a younger group and younger guys coming up. We saw it with the Giants and with Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Madison Bumgarner and then you saw it with the Royals with Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas. These players being homegrown or collected as a young person with a trade or whatnot and just being part of a young group coming forward and making an impact not just for the team but off the field as well.
We always talk about that and we know the importance of it. We just try and come every day and get better. But the mentality I come over with is, I try to use what I’ve learned from the Astros, help some guys and help them prepare and help our analytical group as well to make the next step ahead and provide information on players and maybe be ahead of the curve when they step to the plate.
Piersall: Thank you so much for your time, J.D. and good luck the rest of the season.
Davis: Thank you.
You can find my article on the fire safety event J.D. did in cohesion with the FDNY and The Hartford here.
Davis can be found on Twitter: @JDDavis26.
