A's Spring Training Day 6: Davis Savors Winter in Oakland

MESA, Ariz. - Khris Davis enjoyed quite an offseason travel itinerary, checking out Toronto, taking in the beaches of Hawaii and dining on lobster in Belize.

However, it was the time spent in his adopted hometown of Oakland that most struck a chord with the A's left fielder. After finishing his first season with the A's, Davis followed through on his plan to make his offseason home in Oakland, and he was glad he did.

"I got to just feel the heart of the city," he said upon arriving at camp Sunday. "That was basically the purpose of why I was there. … I wanted to feel Oakland. I love it, honestly. I love the city."

He trained at Dogtown Athletic, a gym in West Oakland. He took part in the A's holiday party for kids at the Oakland Zoo, joined by A's Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who grew up in the city.

"Just to feel these kids' happiness," Davis said. "They didn't look at me as a baseball player. They just looked at me as a role model kind of."

It should be music to the ears of A's fans that the team's most dangerous hitter has a love affair with the city he plays in. If the A's ever entertained the idea of trying to sign Davis to a multi-year extension, and that's purely hypothetical here, it would help that Davis feels comfortable in his surroundings.

Even when he described Oakland in edgy terms, such as when he said it "has its dark side," he seemed to find it endearing.

In return, Davis felt the love from the fan base in 2016, hitting a career-high 42 homers with a team-best 102 RBI. That was despite the awful start he got off to, hitting .143 and mustering just one RBI over his first 12 games.

Obviously, any chances the A's have of improving last year's American League-worst offense rely on the 29-year-old Davis having another big year. But over-analysis is one thing he tries to avoid.

"I don't want to get caught up in last year - the slow start and the strong finish, whatever," he said. "However it was, I'm just ready to do this year."

Davis decided to back out of his plan to play for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, saying his main priority was preparing for his A's season.

"My main focus is to perform for the organization," he said. "I feel like I want to get off on the right foot this year."

NOTEWORTHY: Heavy showers continued to pelt Mesa on Sunday, spoiling the A's first full-squad workout. The hitters were relegated to swinging in the cages and playing catch, while pitchers were scheduled for a day off from throwing on the mound anyway.

"If ever there was a day, at least for the pitchers, that you don't need to (work out), it's today," manager Bob Melvin said. "But when you have everybody there on the first day, you wanna get out on the field and do everything. Hopefully we can incorporate everything tomorrow."

The A's have a whopping 70 players in camp, more than in any other spring Melvin can remember as a big league manager. He addressed the full team in a meeting Sunday morning.

His message?

"We're gonna have to outwork, out-hustle everybody like we have in the past," he said, "and get back to playing the game with the same tenacity that we did a couple years ago."

FAMILIAR FACE: Longtime A's second baseman Mark Ellis is back for the second year in a row as a spring infield instructor. The plan is for Ellis to spend a week with the team now, then another week later in camp.

"I'll take Mark Ellis as many days as I can have him," Melvin said.

LIGHTER SIDE: Nursing his broken right foot, starting pitcher Daniel Mengden has been making his way through the clubhouse on a knee scooter in order to keep pressure off his foot.

Apparently, it looks more fun than it really is.

"I contribute to society Friday, when I can start walking again," Mengden quipped.

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