Piper Davis

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Piper Davis was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the Birmingham Black Barons and the Homestead Grays. In 152 career games, he hit .312 with 178 hits, 8 home runs, and 84 RBI. Piper Davis was a 4-time All-Star. 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 1,785.

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

AVG .312
HR 8
RBI 84
H 178
OPS .836
PIV 1,785
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 188 lb
Born
7/3/1917 in Piper, AL, USA
Died
5/21/1997 in Birmingham, AL, USA
Awards
4× All-Star

Full name: Lorenzo Davis

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Piper Davis — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1014.0 922.0 199.0 416.0 66.0 23.0 40.0 180.0 73.0 11.0 29.0 .451 .495 .703 1.198

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.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Piper Davis — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1949 156.0 141.0 32.0 80.0 13.0 4.0 7.0 46.0 10.0 0 7.0 .567 .604 .865 1.469
Listed seasons · 1 156 141 32 80 13 4 7 46 10 0 7 .567 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

Piper Davis — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
152 570 109 178 33 13 8 84 15 56 1 .312 .378 .458 .836 1,785

Career AVG .312 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +20.5% above league average.

Career OBP .378 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — +14.7% above league average.

Career SLG .458 vs. league average .360 across their career seasons — +27.1% above league average.

Career OPS .836 vs. league average .690 across their career seasons — +21.2% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Piper Davis — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1942 BBB NAL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1943 BBB NAL 41 149 32 45 14 2 2 26 3 19 1 .302 .255 (+18%) .324 (+18%) .346 (+34%) .671 (+26%) 634.5
1944 BBB NAL 32 123 15 26 3 2 2 13 1 7 0 .211 .261 (-19%) .325 (-22%) .357 (-11%) .683 (-16%) -340.6
1944 HG NN2 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .000 — — — — -340.6
1945 BBB NAL 25 92 14 34 3 2 2 15 2 9 0 .370 .260 (+42%) .328 (+28%) .354 (+44%) .683 (+36%) 524.7
1946 BBB NAL 10 36 7 10 2 2 0 0 1 8 0 .278 — — — — 0.0
1947 BBB NAL 14 58 15 21 3 3 1 13 1 5 0 .362 .262 (+38%) .336 (+23%) .376 (+51%) .712 (+38%) 327.1
1948 BBB NAL 28 107 25 42 8 2 1 17 6 7 0 .393 .263 (+49%) .340 (+31%) .379 (+40%) .719 (+36%) 639.8
Career · 8 seasons 152 570 109 178 33 13 8 84 15 56 1 .312 — — — — 1,445

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

Piper Davis — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
23 95 9 26 2 0 1 9 4 1 .274

Playoff Batting by Year

Piper Davis — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1948 ALC BBB 7 29 4 11 0 0 1 4 2 0 .379
1948 NWS BBB 2 8 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .250
1944 NWS BBB 5 22 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 .182
1943 ALC BBB 2 6 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .167
1943 NWS BBB 7 30 1 8 1 0 0 3 2 0 .267

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (208 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Piper Davis — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home97213691351059.634
Away110292681312067.449

Pitching — Home / Away

Piper Davis — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away10.00000—

Last 10 Games — Batting

Piper Davis — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-09-04 BIRMEMW 011001400
1949-08-21 BIRKCML 201000000
1949-08-21 BIRKCML 403200000
1949-08-07 BIRBLGL 422100000
1949-08-07 BIRBLGL 401000000
1949-08-05 BIRBLGL 001000000
1949-07-31 BIRBLGL 011100100
1949-07-31 BIRBLGW 011001200
1949-07-27 BIRMEMW 515110200
1949-07-26 BIRMEML 011001100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Piper Davis — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 58 55 549 30 16 39
2B 57 53 148 167 22 25
3B 2 1 0 4 1 0
OF 4 3 4 0 0 0
SS 38 38 74 103 20 14

Season-by-Season Fielding

Piper Davis — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1942 BBB 2B 1 1 1 1 0 1
1943 BBB 1B 3 3 19 1 1 1
1943 BBB 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1943 BBB 3B 1 1 0 3 1 0
1943 BBB OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1943 BBB SS 36 36 72 99 18 11
1944 BBB 1B 27 27 278 19 8 18
1944 BBB 2B 3 3 12 8 1 0
1944 BBB SS 2 2 2 4 2 3
1944 HG 1B 1 1 13 0 0 1
1945 BBB 1B 21 18 190 8 6 16
1945 BBB 2B 6 5 11 10 2 2
1945 BBB OF 2 2 2 0 0 0
1946 BBB 2B 9 9 22 26 4 3
1946 BBB OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1947 BBB 1B 3 3 27 1 0 1
1947 BBB 2B 11 11 34 37 2 6
1948 BBB 1B 3 3 22 1 1 2
1948 BBB 2B 26 24 68 84 13 13
1948 BBB 3B 1 0 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Piper Davis — Career Games by Position
Position Games
First Base 58
Second Base 57
Third Base 2
Shortstop 38
Center Field 3
Right Field 1

Piper Davis: the record in brief

The season rows for Piper Davis begin in 1942. By club, Davis's seasons break down as the Birmingham Black Barons (1942 through 1948) and the Homestead Grays (1944). The bio lists Davis as a first baseman who threw and hit right-handed. Davis is listed at 6'3" and 188 pounds. Davis was born on July 3, 1917, in Piper, AL, USA. Davis died on May 21, 1997, in Birmingham, AL, USA. Davis's full given name, per the bio, is Lorenzo Davis.

In 152 games and 570 at bats, Davis batted .312 with 178 hits, adding 8 homers and 84 runs batted in. Davis's career OPS of .836 combines a .378 on-base mark with .458 slugging. Over the seasons Davis played, league hitters batted .259; the .312 career figure is 20.5% above that. In OPS terms, Davis's .836 stands 21.2% above the league's .690. The highest hit total in a season was 45, in 1943. In 1948, a season of regular play, Davis hit .393 while the league hit .263.

Frequently Asked Questions about Piper Davis

Was Piper Davis a pitcher?
No. Piper Davis was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Piper Davis hit?
Piper Davis hit 8 career home runs with 178 hits.
What was Piper Davis's career batting average?
Piper Davis batted .312 over his career, with 178 hits in 570 at bats.
How many RBI did Piper Davis have?
Piper Davis drove in 84 runs in his career.
Is Piper Davis in the Hall of Fame?
No. Piper Davis has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
What teams did Piper Davis play for?
Piper Davis played for the Birmingham Black Barons and the Homestead Grays.