Just ask ex-Chicago Cubs hitting coach Chili Davis, who says he just got FIRED because those damn kids just wouldn't listen!!!

58-year-old Davis was a STUD back in the day -- a 3-time All-Star with 3 World Series rings on his resume and a lifetime average of .274. Not too shabby!

But, the Cubs sent him packing on Monday after just 1 season with the team -- and Davis says he thinks he knows why.

"I guess I need to make some adjustments in the way I deliver my message to the millennial players now," Davis told the Chicago Sun-Times.

"I need to make those adjustments for the next job I get, if there is one."

Davis didn't call out any of the young players by name -- but says there were "multiple players there I didn't connect with" -- and notes he's learned what to look out for before taking his next job.

"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."