Davis Keeps His Focus on Baseball : Angels: Although questions about his future with the team keep coming up, the clutch hitter only wants to concentrate on the game.

ANAHEIM —  He will not talk about next year, even though Chili Davis knows that more and more baseball teams are giving veterans the old squeeze play. He doesn’t know if the Angels, who have the option on his $1.75-million contract, will decide to renew him for next summer.

“I leave that up to the club,” Davis said.

This was about 30 minutes after he drove in four runs Thursday in the Angels’ 5-4 victory over Kansas City, moving him among the league leaders with 82 RBIs. Davis’ career high is 93 RBIs, and there are still two months to play this summer.

More and more, it seems Davis should be feeling comfortable that he will call Anaheim home in 1994.

Right?

“No,” said Davis, 33. “I don’t feel comfortable about anything in this game.

“This game doesn’t owe me a thing. And I don’t owe it a thing. I leave it that way.”

Davis drove his point home quickly, like his baserunners. He is one of the few veterans on this team, and he knows things.

About business and baseball.

Although he is batting only .245, Davis is batting .500 (14 for 28) with runners on third and fewer than two outs. He has 17 RBIs in those situations, 16 of which have come on hard hits--not sacrifice flies.

He also has 16 home runs, 12 with men on base.

The latest of those came in the third inning Thursday against Kansas City starter Tom Gordon, when Davis launched a three-run homer into right field to give the Angels a 4-1 lead.

He later added a run-scoring double in the seventh.

“I think the adrenaline starts to flow when he sees runners on base,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “I think he licks his chops and goes to work.

“He’s just not the same hitter leading an inning off. I wouldn’t want to pay him for being my leadoff man, I’ll tell you that.”

Davis has no scientific, Ted Williams-esque explanation for his success in the clutch.

“It’s just weird,” he said. “It just seems that way. I personally believe I get better pitches to hit because guys don’t want to walk me. I’m not a base-stealing threat.”

At times, Davis can’t believe some pitches he gets to hit--like the John Habyan offering he turned into the RBI double in the seventh inning Thursday.

“I was surprised Habyan threw anything close to the plate,” Davis said. “He was trying to trick me. I was just untrickable at the time, I guess.”

Said third baseman Rene Gonzales: “(Davis) is amazing. I’m sure he doesn’t do it consciously, but when there are RBIs out there to be had, he has great at-bats. He’s got a great knack for it.”

He also has a knack for deflecting the praise that comes his way and, as a result, it was up to Gonzales to put Davis’ afternoon into perspective.

“We won, that’s the big thing,” Davis started out.

Gonzales, two lockers down, quickly interrupted.

“Aw, shut up!” Gonzales hollered. “You’re a hero! You do it time and time again!”

Gonzales cackled with glee. Davis looked over and grinned.

Who knows what ’94 will bring? But Davis will always have 1993.