Yahoo Sports Chili Davis blames 'millennial players' after losing job as Cubs hitting coach
Millennials have been blamed for the death of many things. They’ve already killed Applebees, beer, homeownership and napkins. After all that, they still weren’t satisfied. Turns out, millennials also killed Chili Davis’ employment with the Chicago Cubs.
Davis said communicating with “millennial players” was difficult when he was working with the Cubs, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Tribune.
“I guess I need to make some adjustments in the way I deliver my message to the millennial players now. I need to make those adjustments for the next job I get, if there is one.”
That wasn’t the only veiled shot he took at the Cubs youngsters. Davis also said he would be more careful about knowing the personnel in the clubhouse before he takes his next job.
“I learned a lot this year,” he added. “I learned that the next situation I get in, before I say yes to a job, I need to make sure I know the personnel I’ll be dealing with in the clubhouse.
“I hope that the next guy connects better with the players, because I felt that there were multiple players there I didn’t connect with. It wasn’t that I didn’t try. It just wasn’t there.”
The Cubs parted ways with Davis following the team’s loss in the wild-card game against the Colorado Rockies. The team’s offense collapsed in the second half, hitting just .249/.316/.389 after the All-Star break. The Cubs scored one run against the Rockies in their wild-card loss.
Davis’ tenure with Chicago wasn’t all bad. Veteran Ben Zobrist had a resurgent year under Davis. Zobrist was the one player Davis praised during his conversation with Wittenmyer. Javier Baez also developed into an MVP candidate under Davis.
One of the biggest reasons the Cubs offense lagged was out of Davis’ control. Third baseman Kris Bryant played through a large portion of the season with a shoulder injury that depressed his slash line. Bryant hit just 13 home runs in 2018 after hitting 29 in 2017.
Davis has reportedly been contacted by “three or four” teams about potential job openings. Here’s hoping he has enough time to study up on the dankest memes so he can communicate more effectively with the millennials at his next job.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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