Rajai Davis

Rajai Lavae Davis (/ˈrɑːʒeɪ/; born October 19, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and New York Mets. He is currently employed by MLB in the Baseball Operations department.

Davis began his career as a switch-hitter, but became a full-time right-handed hitter prior to the 2004 season. He also throws right-handed.

Davis was born in Norwich, Connecticut, on October 19, 1980. He played Little League Baseball in Willimantic, Connecticut, for the Willimantic Fire Fighters. In 1991, Davis helped the Willimantic Little League All-Star Team win the District 11 championship. Rajai also played in the Willimantic Youth Football League.

In 1999, Davis graduated from New London High School where he earned letters playing baseball, basketball, and football. During the summer he was a member of the New London American Legion team.

After high school, Davis attended the University of Connecticut at Avery Point of the NJCAA in Groton. While in college, Davis played for the New England Collegiate Baseball League's Middletown Giants (now the Futures Collegiate Baseball League's North Shore Navigators).

After borrowing gas money to drive himself from Connecticut to Pittsburgh for a pre-draft open workout at PNC Park, Davis was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 38th round (1,134th overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft as a second baseman. Davis chose to sign with the Pirates instead of accepting a scholarship offer to continue his college baseball career at UConn. He played six full minor league seasons before making his major league debut. He had a .305 career minor league batting average to go along with 251 stolen bases in 322 attempts. In addition, Davis made three consecutive All-Star appearances at three different levels of play from 2002 to 2004.

Davis made his major league debut for the Pirates on August 14, 2006, going 0-for-1 in a pinch hit appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers. He stole his first base two days later, but did not get his first Major League hit for another two weeks. It came on August 29, in the form of a pinch hit double off Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano. He made his first and only defensive appearance of 2006 the next day, playing three innings in right field.

Davis was traded to the San Francisco Giants with pitcher Stephen MacFarland on July 31, 2007, for Matt Morris. He made his Giants debut the next night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, stealing a base and throwing out a runner from center field. In his time with the Giants, Davis was a semi-regular in the Giants lineup, filling in for Dave Roberts or Barry Bonds whenever necessary.