Eric Davis, the best Reds player of the 1980s, returned for a curtain call in 1996. | ZOOM |

        ST. LOUIS — Former Reds star Eric Davis, who waffled on retirement after last year, said Sunday this is definitely his last season.

        “You can take that to the bank,” the San Francisco Giants outfielder said before Sunday night's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. “It's etched in stone.”

        Davis, 39, signed a one-year contract with the Giants after playing the last two seasons with the Cardinals. He was batting .206 with one home run and nine RBI in 68 at-bats.

        “This is it,” he said. “It has nothing to do with how I'm playing. I've talked to different friends who have gone through it and they just told me, "You know.”'

Davis started the Reds toward their 1990 World Series sweep by homering in the first inning of Game 1. | ZOOM |

        Davis is a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner. He was named comeback player of the year with the Orioles in 1998 (28 HR, 89 RBI) after coming back from colon cancer.

        E.D., as he was known here in his heyday, was the best Reds player of the 1980s, thrilling Riverfront Stadium crowds from 1984-91. He averaged 30 homers, 90 RBI and 40 steals for the five seasons 1986-90. He came out of a one-year retirement in 1996 for a remarkable Reds curtain call: 26 HR, 83 RBI.

        He might be best remembered in Cincinnati for two plays in the 1990 World Series: In Game 1, his first-inning, two-run homer off Oakland's Dave Stewart helped propel the Reds to a sweep. In Game 4, he lacerated his kidney diving for a line drive and was hospitalized for 11 days.

        He had his best seasons in 1987 (37 HR, 100 RBI, 50 steals) and 1989 (34 HR, 101 RBI). In 1986, his first full season, he had 80 steals in only 132 games and became just the seventh player in history to join the 30-30 club, reaching that milestone on Aug. 2, the earliest date ever.

MLB.com profile (click on 'Career Highlights' tab to review Davis' years with the Reds).

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