Oakland’s Khris Davis recalls lessons from his ‘Apá
There was a time when Khris Davis’ Spanish was on point, as the Oakland A’s slugger likes to say. As a young child roaming his ‘Apá’s ranch in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, he could speak fluently with his abuelos.
Although Davis isn’t quite as fluent in Spanish anymore, he still carries the lessons he learned early in life from watching his maternal grandfather, Fidel Alarcon.
‘Apá Lessons
Many Mexicans refer to their fathers or grandfathers affectionately as ‘Apá. Davis, the son of a Mexican American mother and an African American father, spent many hours as a child with his maternal grandfather, paying close attention each morning as Fidel Alarcon left home early in Paramount, Calif., to work construction.
Davis also has fond memories of running freely among the chickens and cows along a creek or on the corn field or garden at a ranch his ‘Apá owned in Ensenada.
Like a true son of Mexico’s Baja California, the Lakewood, Calif., native still considers “mariscos,” which is what seafood is called in Mexico, his favorite meal. Ceviche and lobster remain among his favorite dishes.
Baseball’s current home run leader developed more than a love of mariscos on his trips to Ensenada.
Long before Davis could truly appreciate his mother Sonia Alarcon’s impressive work ethic, his ‘Apá showed him the devotion and work ethic while providing for five children. Those traits now define Davis in the majors.
“The one thing I admire most would be just that dedication he had to the family and to provide,” Davis said of his grandfather. “My mom has a lot of brothers and sisters. She comes from a big family. Just the pressure to just provide and raise them poses a lot of problems. …
“I would say the hardest worker I know is my grandfather. He works construction. That’s what he’s done his whole career. Just the hours and dedication he’s put in to provide has been a huge role model.”
Just Like ‘Apá
If Fidel Alarcon is the hardest worker Davis knows, Sonia Alarcon is a close second.
Sonia, who was born in the Mexican state of Sinaloa before she was brought to the United States as a young child, works full-time at Blue Cross Blue Shield in Arizona. She also has a part-time job in concessions at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chase Field and at the Phoenix Suns’ Resort Arena.
When she’s not at her full-time or part-time jobs, she can usually be found working in her yard.
“She likes working a lot,” Davis said. “When she’s at home, she likes doing yard work and just house stuff. She’s just a worker bee.”
Baseball Family
Davis has been around baseball his entire life. His father, Rodney, is a former minor-leaguer who scouted for more than two decades before serving as a senior manager at Major League Baseball’s Urban Youth Academy. He also served as a volunteer coach for UCLA’s softball team last year.
The elder Davis is an L.A. native who played in the Dodgers’ farm system before scouting for the Cleveland Indians, Diamondbacks and the Dodgers. He also coached in the Angels’ farm system.
Although the younger Davis had been around baseball his entire life, he wasn’t spared from some of the snide remarks that other players of color endure in a predominantly white sport.
Fortunately for the biracial Davis, he has always been proud of his two cultures. He learned those lessons early from his parents in California before the family relocated to Arizona, where he graduated from Glendale’s Deer Valley High before enrolling at Cal State Fullerton.
Both sides of his family pack the stands at Angel Stadium when he visits with the A’s, just as his tios and tias, aunts and uncles, primos and primas, and cousins filled Dodger Stadium when he played against the Dodgers as a member of the Brewers during his first three seasons in the majors.
“My parents just taught me to be proud of who I am,” he said. “Growing up in America in a white-like community I’m definitely different. I stand out. They just always taught me to be proud of who I was.
“No matter what, just be proud. Don’t let anybody tell you, you can’t do anything and you’re not going to be anything because I’ve been through it. Playing a white sport, you’re going to run into some things.”
Davis mentions those obstacles nonchalantly, not complaining, just stating facts of life in the same way you’d mention a series of red lights that added a few minutes to the commute.
Slugging His Way In
Fidel Alarcon’s nieto, Sonia Alarcon’s hijo and Rodney Davis’ son has let his talent and his work ethic be his most defining quality.
Heading into Sept. 17, he was hitting .249 with 43 home runs, 115 RBIs, a .327 on-base percentage and .544 slugging percentage.
He has hit at least 42 home runs in each of his three seasons in Oakland. He hit his 42nd home run of the season in the 10th inning on Sept. 14 to give the A’s a crucial victory over the Rays. He tied his career-high with his 43rd home run of the season two days later on a grand slam, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a 5-4 loss.
With 12 games to go entering the penultimate week of the season, the A’s are still within range of catching the defending World Series champion Houston Astros in the AL West race.
They appear in control of the second AL wild-card berth, considering they had a seven-game lead over the Rays heading into the Sept. 17 games.
October Surprise?
The A’s and Braves might be the most surprising positive stories in the majors. Few outside of the A’s clubhouse could have predicted the A’s would compete for a wild-card spot this season, and perhaps even Davis and his teammates couldn’t have imagined they would challenge the Astros for AL West supremacy.
“Before the season I knew there were going to be ups and downs,” he said. “I was going to embrace whatever came my way. That’s what I’m still trying to do. This year is a different situation because we’ve been winning a lot more.
“That’s what we expect of ourselves. It just feels a lot better knowing we’re going to win the day and get after it. Previous years it’s been kind of like, ‘Get through the day, do your job,’ but now the main focus is to win.”
When A’s manager Bob Melvin was asked how important Davis has been to his team this year, he rattled off several stats.
The numbers are definitely impressive. Heading into Sept. 17 Davis led the majors in home runs and was second in runs batted in with 115, only seven behind the Red Sox’s J.D. Martinez.
“But not only that,” Melvin says, “he’s also one of the most well liked guys in our clubhouse. He fits right into kinda what this team is. You play for the guy next to you. No one guy is more important than another.
“He’s not a big fan of the spotlight. He just wants to play and win for his team and go home and do his thing. He’s not one of those guys that is looking for the spotlight.”
Apá Fidel Alarcon’s nieto doesn’t need the spotlight because he’s busy doing what he was taught.
“He’s one of the hardest workers here,” Melvin said. “He’s been primarily (the designated hitter), but if you watch batting practice he’s out there playing left field every day staying ready when we need to use him out there.
“When guys see how hard he works and he plays every day and he’s basically in one spot, the DH, and to watch him go about his business out there, the younger guys just kind of fall in line with that.”
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