OAKLAND -- One of the rituals of spring training is the physical exam that players must take before suiting up for the first time, and it's a good bet no one on the A's roster is looking forward to that more than Ike Davis.
The first baseman, picked up in a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates over the winter, hit 32 homers and drove in 90 runs for the New York Mets in 2012, then had his 2013 season crushed by valley fever, a fungal disease that produces extreme fatigue, fever and muscle and joint pain. He finished with nine homers and 32 RBIs.
The 2014 season was supposed to be better, but a physical exam showed that he still had traces of the disease, which can linger in some patients. He hit just one homer in 24 at-bats before the Mets traded him to Pittsburgh, where he rebounded some, hitting 10 more homers in 336 at-bats.
"Valley fever is a nightmare," said Davis, who turns 28 in March. "You have no energy, no nothing. It was definitely a weird one. It's supposed to go away on its own, but when I had an X-ray last year, it showed I still had it. I'm hoping that's over and done with."
If he is free of the disease -- and Davis said he's feeling stronger than he has in several years -- the A's could be in position to make up for some of the many home runs they lost in the trades of Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss over the winter.
Of course, he'll need to get sufficient playing time.
"I'm sure they want me to reprise and hit 32 homers again," Davis said of the A's, who bought his contract from the Pirates. "That's not easy to do when you are getting 300 at-bats. No one can do that unless you are Barry Bonds.
"I know I'll hit my homers, but if I could get 500, 600 at-bats that would be easier."
There is no guarantee that Davis, a left-hander, will get anywhere close to that number of at-bats. The plan according to manager Bob Melvin and general manager Billy Beane is for Davis to start at first base against right-handers, but against left-handers Billy Butler might move to first base so that Coco Crisp could be the D.H.
But success has a way of keeping a player in the lineup. If Davis, a gifted defender with a respectable .336 career on-base percentage despite a .240 lifetime batting average, gets off to a good start, he could force his way into the lineup.
"I've got the opportunity to play here, and I've been excited since I got the word I was coming to Oakland," Davis said. "I want to be a tough out and a run producer, and when I'm in the lineup I can be that.
"The last two years haven't been great, but I'm feeling good now, and that's important. It's a good lineup to hit in too, with a lot of high on-base percentage guys, and that makes it easier."
It would be easier still knowing that the last bit of valley fever has been expunged from his system.
"This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business," he said. "The last couple of years haven't been great. But there's a chance to get going again."
For more on the A's, see John Hickey's Inside the A's blog at ibabuzz.com/athletics.
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