Bob Melvin and Chili Davis have remained close friends since their days as teammates with the San Francisco Giants as young major leaguers. Twice before, Melvin had expressed interest in hiring Davis as his hitting coach -- in Seattle and again with the Arizona Diamondbacks. They have golfed together and gone mountain biking. Davis is on Melvin's staff at last, hired Saturday as Oakland's hitting coach to complete the Athletics' staff heading into 2012.
