page_title: Ike Davis
section_title: 2010
hierarchical_section_title: Ike Davis / Major leagues / New York Mets / 2010
caption_attribution_description: Eisenhower presidential campaign in Baltimore, MD, September 1952.
context_page_description: Isaac Benjamin Davis is an American former professional baseball first baseman. From 2010 through 2016, he played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, and New York Yankees.
  Davis led his high school team to three straight Arizona state championships as a pitcher and first baseman. As a hitter he batted .447, while as a pitcher he recorded a 23–0 win–loss record, a 1.85 earned run average, and 14 saves. He also pitched for the gold medal-winning U.S.A. Youth National Team in the 2003 World Youth Championships, and was the most valuable player of the 2004 AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic. Ranked second in the nation as a freshman for Arizona State University by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, he was named Pac-10 Conference Freshman of the Year, as he became the first freshman ever to lead the conference in runs batted in. He hit .353 with a .605 slugging percentage in college, threw a fastball that reached 94 miles per hour, and was a two-time All-American and a three-time All-Pac-10 selection.
  Davis was drafted 18th overall in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft.
context_section_description: Davis played in spring training with the Mets in 2010, and led the team with a .480 average as he hit 3 homers.  He also sparkled on defense, prompting José Reyes to observe:  "People talk about his hitting, but he is one of the best defensive first basemen you will ever see for a player his age."  Many Mets players were rooting for Davis to break camp with the team, but he was sent down to the minors at the end of spring training.  On April 19, however, the Mets purchased Davis's minor league contract. At that point Davis had played only 65 games in his life above the Single-A level.
  Davis made his debut at Citi Field on April 19 against the Chicago Cubs.  He singled in his first at bat, and had two singles in four at bats in a Mets win.  "This is awesome," he gushed.  In a sign of acceptance and welcome, after the victory Mets veteran Jeff Francoeur slapped a shaving-cream pie in his face.  Davis had two multi-hit games in his first four games.  In his fifth game, on April 23, he hit his first home run.  It traveled 450 feet (140 m), onto Shea Bridge at Citi Field, and was the longest home run of any Met at Citi Field.  He had his first multi-home-run game on May 7.
  A gifted, slick-fielding defensive first baseman, in 3 of his first 21 games he made spectacular catches of foul pop-ups, bracing himself against the railing in front of the first base dugout, and then flipping over the railing as he caught the ball.  The 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Davis said:  "I'm going to try to catch any ball I can. I've got long arms, I guess.  I'd rather end the game, than worry about getting a bruise."
  
  The Met fans began to treat him like a folk hero. The New York Post described him as a "cult hero." Within a month of his debut, he had become a fan favorite. "I Like Ike" banners began appearing at Citi Field, a phrase once used in the decades-prior presidential campaigns of Dwight D. Eisenhower.  Weeks later, he recalled:  
  I had such nerves the first few days. I didn't even have an approach. It was just see the ball, hit the ball. Only now am I settling in, getting the chance to think about how a pitcher is going to approach me. 
  While the Mets had appeared uncertain whether Davis could handle the pressure of the major leagues as spring training ended, by mid-May—just a month after calling him up to the majors—they moved him to the cleanup spot in the batting order.  Manager Jerry Manuel said:  "I think we're going to try to leave him there for a while.  I think he's ready to handle that."
  On June 8, Davis hit his first career walk off home run, against the Padres' Edward Mujica.  His 11 home runs prior to the All Star break tied with Benny Agbayani (1999) for the second-most by a Mets rookie, behind Ron Swoboda (15, in 1965).
  By September 26, as advanced defense metrics reflected a "UZR/150" (ultimate zone rating) of 12.5, putting him second in baseball behind Oakland's Daric Barton, sportswriter Mike Silva mused as to whether he could win a Gold Glove.  Using the advanced metric Defensive Runs Saved, sportswriter John Dewan indicated that Davis was best in the NL and second-best in baseball, having saved 14 runs, again behind only Barton in the majors.  He showed good range, and saved a number of throws with his soft hands on scoops.
  For the season, he was second among all NL rookies in runs (73), doubles (33), walks (72), extra-base hits (53), on-base percentage (.351), and OPS (.791).  He was also third in RBIs (71) and slugging percentage (.440), and tied for third in home runs (19).
  He set the Mets rookie record for total bases (230).  He also tied Lee Mazzilli's 1977 Mets rookie record in walks (72) and Ty Wigginton's 2003 Mets rookie record in extra-base hits (53).  He was second among rookies in Mets history with 33 doubles (behind Wigginton), his 19 home runs tied for second-most with Ron Swoboda (1965), behind Darryl Strawberry (1983), his 71 RBIs tied for second with Wigginton, behind Strawberry, and his 138 hits were 4th on the Mets all-time list (behind Jay Payton—2000, Ron Hunt—1963, and Wigginton).
  Davis was named the first
caption: "I Like Ike" banners during Eisenhower's 1952 presidential campaign; the banners were reprised in Davis's rookie season
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