OAKLAND — Khris Davis was rewarded with co-American League Player of the Week honors Monday, sharing the award with Boston’s Hanley Ramirez.
But it’s his season-long body of work that merits the attention. Clubbing his 40th homer Sunday made Davis one of just five players in Oakland history — and seventh in franchise history — to reach that mark.
Keeping that sort of elite company isn’t lost on him. He joins Jose Canseco, Jimmie Foxx, Jason Giambi, Reggie Jackson, Mark McGwire and Gus Zernial as the only hitters to wear an A’s uniform to reach the 40-homer mark.
“Those are the greats,” Davis said before Monday’s game against Houston. “I hope kids talk about me” in the same way.
He appreciates his place in history but is less interested in dissecting what exactly is going so right in his third full major league season. Davis’ previous career high in homers came last season, when he hit 27 with Milwaukee. His 99 RBI are 30 better than his previous best.
“It hasn’t hit me yet,” he said of swatting 40 homers. “I’m just kind of blacked out at this point in the season, where like, I don’t know what’s going on. I’m just trying to get the job done basically. Maybe one day it’ll hit me. It’s just so surreal right now.”
Astros right-hander Mike Fiers, who played alongside Davis the past two seasons in Milwaukee, said Davis is benefiting merely from being in the lineup regularly.
“I think in Milwaukee he wasn’t playing every day,” Fiers said. “He was in and out, he didn’t really have a set role. I know it’s tough, especially at this level, to come in and pinch hit and do things like that. When you’re in the lineup every day I think it makes a big difference for a hitter. And for a guy like that, that’s always been a good hitter throughout his career, it wasn’t a surprise to see (Davis take off).”
A’s manager Bob Melvin said Davis’ Player of the Week honors was a slam dunk.
“Well deserved … player of the month, player of the year,” Melvin said. “It’s some pretty good numbers he's putting up. Talking to him yesterday, he doesn’t consider himself finished. He’s in a pretty good place right now. It was fun to watch him hit No. 40. You could tell that one got his attention more so than some of the other ones.”
Davis became the A’s first 40-homer man since Jason Giambi hit 43 in 2000. If Davis were to surpass that number over the final 13 games, he’d be going for the club’s top home run season since McGwire swatted 52 in 1996.
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Sonny Gray, working back from a strained forearm, will throw off the mound again Tuesday, Melvin said. If all goes well, he would face hitters after that and then potentially pitch in a game. If he reaches that point, Melvin said the team could consider either an abbreviated start of just a few innings or a relief outing. Both options are still on the table.
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Right-hander Henderson Alvarez will undergo surgery on his right shoulder Tuesday, though the extent of what needs to be done — and the recovery time afterward — won’t be known until after the procedure is completed.
In other injury news, Mark Canha will try hitting off a tee Tuesday. He’s missed most of this season recovering from hip surgery.
