Drafted in the 6th round of the 1970 draft out of Locust Grove High School, Bob Davis
spent two years in the minors before getting called up in 1973 to open the season for the Padres due to an injury to Fred Kendall. He was sent down to AA Alexandria and wouldn’t make it back to the big club until 1975.
He became the backup catcher in 1976 and stayed with the Padres until the Toronto Blue Jays’ GM, Peter Bavasi (a former Padres GM), selected Bob in the Rule 5 draft. In 1980, Bob posted his best overall numbers as a player batting .216 with 11 doubles, 4 home runs and 19 RBI’s. He was released by Toronto after the season and picked up by the California Angels where he had a brief cup of coffee with the parent club before spending his last season as a professional in AAA Salt Lake City.
Talking to Bob, he told us about some of his favorite memories of his time with the San Diego Padres.
Padres360 – What is your proudest moment of your Major League career?
Bob Davis – Being the Opening Day catcher in 1973 for the San Diego Padres and getting my first major league hit off Juan Marichal on April 10, 1973.
Padres360 – What did you do after your major league career ended?
Bob Davis – I got involved in the cattle business.
Padres360 – What are you doing now?
Bob Davis – I’m a Real Estate Agent and I currently live in Lake Hudson, Oklahoma.
Padres360 – Who was your favorite Padres players when you were on the team?
Bob Davis – Randy Jones, Johnny Grubb and Dave Freisleben.
We hope you enjoyed our continuing quest to reach out to past Padres players. We love learning how they are doing and letting them know that we remember them.
Nostalgic Blue Jays fan here and always wondered what ever happened to him. I thought he could have been a decent power hitter but didn’t play regularly enough and his avg was always a little low. I think he hit his first HR off of Carlton, who was dominant.
Thank You