Jeff Mathis, Ike DavisThese past few months have been extremely hard on Mets first baseman Ike Davis.  The 26 year old entered last season with high hopes, and slumped for a majority of the season.  He got no love from Mets fans, and he became the laughingstock of the team.  In total, he hit .205/.336/.334, with nine homeruns, and 33 RBI’s.  Of course, Davis will be the first to admit that he had a horrible 2013 season, but is it really that big of a deal?  Earlier this offseason, his name came out in multiple trade rumors, and at one point… he almost got traded to the Orioles, who already have a first baseman.  It is completely reasonable for Mets fans to be upset with Davis, as he did have his worst season yet, not including 2011 in which he played all of 36 games due to injury, but there is no need for the Mets to trade the young star.

First of all, Davis has proven himself defensively throughout his career.  He has never had more than nine errors in a season and, in 2012 and 2013, his defense was the thing holding the Mets back from sending him down to the minors early in the season, if at all.   Also, he has been extremely consistent with an lgFLD% around the .993 mark every year (.993 in 2010, .994 in 2011, .992 in 2012, and .994 in 2013), along with a total of 3,487 career putouts.

Although Davis is not too consistent at the plate, he still does have a few things going for him.  For one, he has 67 career homeruns, and he has hit more than 20 homeruns in a season twice.  He also has a career .434 slugging percentage and a .768 career OBP.  Due to these numbers, plus a few more, Davis is yet to post an offensive WAR at or below zero, his lowest being 0.1 in 2013, leading to a career 4.2 WAR.  More than that, Davis has also put of an oRAR of 48 in his four-year career, which is more than Buster Posey, who beat out Davis in 2010 Rookie of the Year voting, and won an MVP in 2012, has had in the same time span.

So what do all these numbers mean?  For starters, they prove that Davis is not a terrible defensive or offensive first baseman.  It also shows that he is no joke, and can still be an elite player in the future.  This will come in handy for the Mets in 2014 and beyond.  Not only will he provide them with a first baseman, but a power hitter as well.  Of course, Davis is not a contact hitter, and will probably remain hitting in the low to mid .200’s, but he is still a worthy piece of the Mets future.  But more than that, the Mets cannot afford to trade him away to another team, watch him shine, and become a worthy MVP candidate for that team, as it will only lead to yet another “what if…” story about our beloved New York team.

9 comments on “Is it possible to still like Ike Davis?

  • Kookie

    230 and 15 homers wouldn’t be too bad in a platoon role.

  • pal88

    One more chance..He deserves this..if by tha allstar bresk its not happenng then release him….I’m pulling for him

  • DD

    I’m really pulling for Ike. Hey, he has shown that he can hit for power; it’s up to the Mets, and Ike of course, to get the production from him.

    That way I can set aside my thoughts of putting a contract out on Mike Pelfrey. Jesus, a pop fly right in front of him, he can’t be bothered to direct traffic? Just remember how you felt about Ike the day before that accident occurred.

  • Name

    Uhhh you obviously haven’t been watching him play if you think that Ike Davis was good defensively the past 2 years. He carried his bad play onto the field with a -3.5 UZR/150 in 2012 and -3.1 UZR/150 in 2013.
    He also has major attitude issues/learning disability issues if you’ve been watching him the last 2 years. He doesn’t get how to get better.
    The only reason he’s still here is because he was picked in the 1st round. He’s got nothing else going for him.

    • Chris F

      No kidding Name. He’s been a disaster in the field, with declining metrics every season. And the eye test goes right with it. I’m no fan of cherry picking this or that metric. In fact Ike is not any every day major leaguer. He offers no help to an aspiring team whatsoever. Although he is 26, he turns 27 soon, and we are still giving one more chance to a loser. Meanwhile Freddy freeman at 24 or 25 just got 8 years. I would dump every one of our 1B platoon and look to start over. All 5, 6, or 7 we can trot out there do not belong.

      I wonder if Ike is going to get a full dose of outside breaking balls?

    • Joey Vito

      Nice to see somebody here making some sense. The Ike Davis love affair is beyond perplexing to me.

  • Patrick Albanesius

    The love affair with Ike Davis is about on par with the haters of Ike Davis. He is still young enough to turn his career around, but he has an uphill battle. Chris Davis looked like a bust when Texas got rid of him, but some guys put it together late. Since we don’t have an All-Star waiting in the wings, it doesn’t make sense to toss Ike out on his rear. Let him show this year whether he is for real, or if it’s time to make a final change.

    • Chris F

      Not really, those of us that see him as done are going on what he has been doing before our eyes for game after game. At 26 he was sent to the minors. Hanging on to his rookie year as some hope just escapes me. He has a long track record of getting worse, not getting better. Holding out for him being Chris Davis is like buying lottery tickets, theres a 1 in a million chance.

      I do agree with you that with Alderson failing to address 1B properly (trading for Trumbo for example), we have no close person in the farm until Dom Smith at prob 3 years before hitting the show. Ultimately, 1B looks like another year of misery.

  • JMHammer

    The additions of Granderson and Young in this lineup is going to make Davis a better player.That was part of the problem in years past , and that will change this year. Look for Davis to have a much better year.

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