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No. 80: Greatest seasons in Dodgers history: Tommy Davis, 1962

He almost won MVP

By Blake Harris
LA Times

Tommy Davis, 1962

Stats: .346/.374/.535/.910, 27 HR, 153 RBI, 230 H, 120 R, 18 SB, 148 OPS+

Awards: All-Star (2x), MVP (3rd in voting)

Baseball Reference WAR: 6.0

FanGraphs WAR: 5.8

Combined WAR: 5.9

We just talked about Tommy Davis, as he came in as No. 84 on our “Greatest Dodgers” countdown. If you’d like a more in-depth look of his Dodgers career, go check out the article. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the best season of his career, his record-setting 1962 campaign.

Davis had an insane season in 1962, putting up stats we likely won’t see a player put up for a long time. He hit .346, and finished the year with 230 hits, leading the league. Today, that number is tied for the 29th most in the live-ball era. In addition, he also drove in 153 runs, which is tied for the 33rd most in MLB history for a single season.

Davis is the only player in franchise history to have at least 150 RBI in a season. His 230 hits are the second most in franchise history, behind Babe Herman who had 241 in 1930.

Though he was great against both, Davis absolutely crushed left-handers that year. He hit .398/.427/.628/1.056 against the southpaws.

For the season, he had at least two hits in 68 games and had at least three hits in 26 games. On June 25, Davis went 5-for-5 against the Milwaukee Braves.

Not only was Davis consistently getting hits, he was doing it in crucial times. With runners in scoring position, Davis hit .376 with an OPS of .950. In high leverage situations, Davis hit .362 with a .970 OPS. In 149 high leverage at-bats, he hit eight home runs and drove in 65 runs.

Here’s where Davis’ season ranks in Dodgers history since the live-ball era:

  • 230 hits (2nd)
  • 153 RBI (1st)
  • .346 AVG (7th)
  • 120 runs (7th)
  • 10 triples (12th)

Get caught up on the rest of the “All-Time Dodgers” lists!

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