Dead-ger

Willie Davis, one of the first Dodger stars whose entire career occurred after Walter O’Malley’s betrayal, has died at the age of 69. In 14 years with the Dodgers, Duke Snider’s replacement in center field won 3 Gold Gloves, holds the team record with a 31-game hitting streak in 1969, and has more hits, extra-base hits, triples runs and total bases than any other West Coast Dodger. Still, his play was erratic and he was an oddity, chanting Buddhist mantras on the bench and in the locker room before and after games. His career was summed up by Dodger GM Buzzy Bavasi: "He could have been a Hall of Famer, but he had million-dollar legs and a 10-cent head." He may best be remembered for his World Series misadventures, like stealing 3 bases in one game in 1965, including one where he fell along the way and crawled into second. In Game 2 of the 1966 World Series, also known as Sandy Koufax’s last game, he made 3 errors in 1 inning, allowing 3 unearned runs to score, which was 1 more than the Dodgers scored the entire series. The confluence of baseball and the new medium of television in the Hollywood area in the early 1960s led to many Dodgers making cameos on sitcoms, including Davis on The Flying Nun and Mister Ed, a trend that thankfully ended before Fernando Valenzuela showed up in Cabot Cove.