Cobb recalls hilarious prior matchup with now-teammate Davis originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Alex Cobb and infielder J. D. Davis’ paths crossed before either player joined the Giants.
Cobb shared a hilarious story of when he, with the Tampa Bay Rays at the time, faced Davis and the New York Mets and how he prepared for their matchup, or lack thereof.
“I scout the three-hole hitter for a very good lineup, so we’re spending most of our time on [Davis],” Cobb told Davis and Mitch Haniger on Saturday on KNBR 680 during the Giants’ fanfest at Oracle Park. “And then I thought about J.D. and how I faced him in New York, and he was batting .168-ish at the time, and it was and I just kind of threw his scouting report off to the side.
“I was greeted with a very well-hit ball that I thought I threw a pretty good pitch on the inner half and probably a 110 exit velocity straight to my third baseman’s glove. So I got him out, but it was I was like, ‘What? That guy doesn’t hit. That’s not a .168 hitter.’ “
While Cobb jokingly noted the past success against his Giants teammate, the veteran acknowledged that anything can happen in any matchup.
“We talked about luck in this game a little bit and things that you can’t control,” Cobb continued. “I mean, the guy crushes the ball. He hits the ball extremely hard, and he can’t help if, you know, there’s a guy standing there on the other side that catches it, but best .168 hitter ever saw.”
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Cobb went 7-8 with a 3.73 ERA in 28 starts and Davis, who came from the Mets as part of the Darin Ruf trade last August, hit .263 with eight home runs and 14 RBI in 49 games with San Francisco during the 2022 MLB season. The two veterans hope to be part of a Giants squad hoping to compete in the difficult NL West.
After finishing last season 81-81 and with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres not going anywhere, manager Gabe Kapler and Co. will have their work cut out for them.