Babe Davis
Left Fielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Babe Davis was a left fielder who played in Major League Baseball for 4 teams, including the Atlanta Black Crackers. In 68 career games, he hit .280 with 69 hits, 3 home runs, and 38 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 97.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Left Fielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 180 lb
- Died
- 7/18/1981 in Athens, GA, USA
Full name: Willie Lyndon Davis
Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | 246 | 47 | 69 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 38 | 5 | 22 | 2 | .280 | .347 | .407 | .753 | 97 |
Career AVG .280 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .347 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .407 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .753 vs. league average .731 across their career seasons — near league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | BCA | NAL | 40 | 149 | 25 | 44 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 10 | 2 | .295 | .272 (+8%) | .341 (+1%) | .392 (+9%) | .734 (+5%) | 87.2 |
| 1939 | IAB | NAL | 16 | 59 | 14 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .254 | .274 (-7%) | .342 (avg) | .393 (-1%) | .735 (avg) | 10.0 |
| 1939 | HG | NN2 | 8 | 33 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .273 | — | — | — | — | 10.0 |
| 1940 | MRS | NAL | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 4 seasons | 68 | 246 | 47 | 69 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 38 | 5 | 22 | 2 | .280 | — | — | — | — | 107 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (69 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 38 | 131 | 29 | 45 | 2 | 27 | .344 |
| Away | 31 | 118 | 20 | 29 | 2 | 8 | .246 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940-05-13 | MEM | SNO | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-06-20 | ATN | MEM | W | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-06-18 | ATN | MEM | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-06-15 | ATN | CV9 | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1939-06-04 | ATN | MEM | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-05-30 | ATN | SSA | L | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-05-28 | ATN | KCM | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-05-28 | ATN | KCM | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1939-05-26 | ATN | KCM | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939-05-21 | ATN | CV9 | L | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 6 |
| Third Base | 2 |
| Shortstop | 1 |
| Left Field | 26 |
| Center Field | 25 |
| Right Field | 11 |
Babe Davis: the record in brief
The season rows for Babe Davis begin in 1938. Club by club, the record runs the Atlanta Black Crackers (1938), the Indianapolis ABCs/Atlanta Black Crackers (1939), the Homestead Grays (1939), and the Memphis Red Sox (1940). Listed as a left fielder, Davis threw and hit right-handed. The recorded size is 180 pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame. The birth record reads September 10, 1908, in Clarke County, GA, USA. Davis died on July 18, 1981, in Athens, GA, USA. The bio lists the given name Willie Lyndon.
Across 68 games at the plate, Davis's career line reads 69 hits in 246 at bats for a .280 average, plus 3 home runs and 38 runs batted in. The on-base percentage is .347 and the slugging percentage .407, for an OPS of .753. Davis hit .280 while the league hit .271 over the same span, a figure close to average. No season topped the 44 hits of 1938. 1938 brought the most runs batted in, 25.
Frequently Asked Questions about Babe Davis
- Was Babe Davis a pitcher?
- No. Babe Davis was a position player (Left Fielder).
- How many home runs did Babe Davis hit?
- Babe Davis hit 3 career home runs with 69 hits.
- What was Babe Davis's career batting average?
- Babe Davis batted .280 over his career, with 69 hits in 246 at bats.
- How many RBI did Babe Davis have?
- Babe Davis drove in 38 runs in his career.
- Is Babe Davis in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Babe Davis has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- What teams did Babe Davis play for?
- Babe Davis played for the Atlanta Black Crackers, the Indianapolis ABCs/Atlanta Black Crackers, the Homestead Grays, and the Memphis Red Sox.