Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/804369
42 PLAY BALL BAY AREA NEWS GROUP A crossthebackofA's left fielder Khris Davis is a tattoo of a B-2 st ealt h b omber . The B-2 was a high-altitude, long-distance fight - er plane, designed with a singular goal in mind: doing its job while remaining invisible. "He's a stealth ballplayer, and really always has been," said Larry Eubanks, Davis' coach at Deer Valley High in suburban Phoe - nix. "He's a warrior and a guy you always wanted on your side, but he's always cherished that under-the-radar ethos." Davis took Deer Valley to the Arizona state title in 2006, scoring the winning run in extra innings with a leadoff single and steal of second before coming around to score the walk-off run. He was Arizona co-player of the year, but at the Deer Valley awards banquet, Eubanks said Davis was uncomfortable with others talking about him. He'd rather they talked about someone else. And that hasn't changed much in the last decade. "What I like about the stealth bomber," Davis says, "is the stealth part. It does its job under the radar. I like being under the radar, too." So how's that going to work now after last year's 42-homer coming out party? "Well, I don't know that's happening this year," he said with a shrug. "There are no secrets in the big leagues. You can only stay quiet so long, and then you can't." As a personality, Davis does like the quiet. As a ballplayer, he makes noise — huge noise. The dichotomy can be explo - sive. "My family says I'm like a monster right now," he said. "They THE A'S don't know me when I'm on the field. When I'm on the field, it's almost like I don't know who my famil y i s. I h ear ev er ybod y t ry ing to get some kind of reaction out of me. 'Khris. Khris!' they yell. "I mean, I have to go a dark place I don't know. It's like a blackout scene, basically. It takes years of practice. It's a mental thing. It's like a mental edge." Alth oug h Da vis h on ed th at ski ll in college and as a pro, Eubanks recalls that dark place in evidence even in high school. "We were playing a big rival, and a parent went out behind the center field fence and began yelling at him," Eubanks said. "He was doing all he could to get Khris out of the game. The guy was maybe 40 feet away from him, and Khris never moved. I don't think he even heard him. He had that ability. That's very Khris." The darkness, the monster, the blackout? That doesn't sound like a place most of us would like to go, even to be a Major League Baseball player. For Davis, it's his happy place. "I love myself in that zone," he said. "It's therapeutic. Everything that's going on outside the field, it blacks out. It's almost meditative." It's different, but then most things about Davis are. At 5-foot- 11 and 192 pounds, it makes little sense how the ball comes off his bat as if shot out of a bazooka. "Khris was the best high school hitter I've ever seen," said Tommy Eubanks, Larry's son and the outfield coach at Deer Valley in that title season. "The power you see has been there as long as I can remember. I think he hit a homer in five of the six games we played in the state tournament. "We're playing in spring train - ing parks, and he's hitting the ball HANDOUT;KARLMONDON KhrisDavis took his high school team to the state title in 2006, scoring the winning run in extra innings. KHRUSHINGIT Khris Davis joined a prominent A's power-hitting club in 2016, littered with Bash Brothers and a Mr. October even. At least Davis has an ample nickname in Khrush. Name HR Year Mark McGwire 52 1996 Mark McGwire 49 1987 Reggie Jackson 47 1969 Jose Canseco 44 1991 Jason Giambi 43 2000 Jose Canseco 42 1988 Mark McGwire 42 1992 Khris Davis 42 2016 Khris Davis 42 2016 'Everythingthat's going on outside the field, it blacks out. It's almost meditative.' — Khris Davis