Before He Played for Pay . . .

Before He Played for Pay . . . Ben Davis

These stories concern Malvern's Ben Davis ('95), who recently
was named the Top Player on our Daily News 35-Year Team. The first
was written in May '95 as the buzz mushroomed. The second was written
a month later after he was selected No. 2 overall by the Padres.

PRO PROSPECT ALREADY STYLIN'
MALVERN PREP CATCHER/BARBER IS NATION'S NO. 4 SCHOOLBOY

May 03, 1995

by Ted Silary, Daily News Sports Writer

Ben Davis next month likely will be offered hundreds of thousands of dollars to sign a professional baseball contract.

For now, he settles for much smaller amounts of cash.

Davis, rated the nation's No. 4 high school prospect by Baseball America, is a switch-hitting catcher at Malvern Prep with a cannon for a right arm.

Enemy baserunners, it turns out, are not all he clips.

If you are a Malvern student in need of a haircut, Davis accepts appointments most days between the end of classes and the beginning of practice.

The cost is $3, having recently been raised from $2.

"Prom season was coming up," Davis said, laughing. "I needed a little more.

"This is my only means of making money. It's the only 'job' I've ever had. Like I told the kids, 'If you go to a barber, it's going to cost $15. This is still a deal. ' Nobody complained. "

Although Malvern's Inter-Ac League game with visiting Germantown Academy was monsooned out yesterday, the 6-3, 195-pound Davis was unable to knock out seven or eight haircuts as opposed to the usual three or four.

As soon as classes ended, a television crew wanted a chunk of his time. Followed by a sports writer. Followed by three high-ranking members of the Seattle Mariners' scouting department.

Seattle has the third pick in baseball's amateur draft, which will begin June 1. It is not unrealistic to suggest that Davis, who is batting .542 with three doubles, four triples, six home runs and 25 runs batted in through 17 games, could be selected in such a lofty slot.

"He has every tool," was the short version of the comments made by Mike Rooney, Malvern's first-year coach.

Here's the expanded version: "His most extraordinary tool is his arm. It's out of this world. When he goes to the mound (for infrequent closer appearances), he hits 86 to 87 mph on the radar gun. Put that behind the plate and it's one in a million. He's got size. He's a switch-hitter with power. He's really polished behind the plate. He blocks balls, knows the game, calls a great game, frames pitches. Then, he's a great leader with a tremendous personality. "

For an unbiased opinion, we turn to Steve Kolinsky, an area scout for the Chicago Cubs.

"Ben should play in the big leagues," Kolinsky said. "With his arm and release and defensive skills, he should at least make it as a backup. The question is, as it is for every kid, will he be a big-time hitter? I feel he will. A lot of people feel he will. "

Kolinsky said he gets excited every time he watches Davis throw.

"There aren't too many arms better than his in the majors," he said. ''Every chance he gets, he shows it off. Not too many people are running on him these days, but between the innings, he throws it down there just like it's in the heat of game. Scouts love seeing that.

"The other things we love are how close he is to the batter - you don't lose low strikes that way - and how he takes control of the game. He's got great makeup. Just watching him, you know he's a kid who does everything he can to be the best he can be. I don't think anything could sidetrack him. The kid is special, real special. "

Rooney said numerous scouts have told him what a difference, and pleasure, dealing with Ben has been. They've commented, he said, about how much more they'd love their jobs if there were more guys like Ben.

"His attitude has been unbelievable," said Rooney, who was an assistant last season under former Phillie Greg Gross, now a coach in the Colorado Rockies' farm system. "Whereas most kids get arrogant when lots of attention comes their way, Ben has remained very down to earth. "

Ben credits his faith, his parents, Bill and Cheryl, and his brother, Glenn, for helping him to remain grounded.

Glenn, a first baseman, last year was an 18th-round draft choice of the Minnesota Twins out of Malvern. He now plays at Vanderbilt. Ben, meanwhile, has signed with Miami, one of the top college programs in the country.

The Davises have been talking with an adviser, the high-powered Ron Shapiro, and a target dollar amount has been set. The scouts have not yet been told the amount, Ben said, and the Davises prefer to keep it private.

"I'm thrilled that high school players are included in the draft," Ben said. "You can look in the majors and find a number of quality players that didn't go to college. College is supposed to prepare you for what you want to do in life. If your goal is to be a professional baseball player, I don't see why you should have to go to college if you can go right into your chosen profession. "

But at the same time . . .

"If you don't have a college education, you might not do too well in life," he said. "I have a scholarship to a great school. To not go on and get a college education, I'll have to be compensated. Probably, money will be a major factor in my decision. "

He sighed. "I just hope to go as high as I can in the draft, and that the contract thing will work out, and that I'll be able to go play pro ball wherever it takes me. "

According to Rooney, Malvern's games have been witnessed by an average of eight to 10 scouts, with a high-water mark of 20. The interest has been intense since last summer, when Davis starred in the U.S. Olympic Festival and the World Junior Baseball Championships. This spring, national cross-checkers, scouting directors, assistant general managers and even a GM, Pittsburgh's Cam Bonifay, have watched him play.

Unfortunately, they don't always get to see him hit. Twice in one game, Davis was issued an intentional walk with runners on first and second.

"When you see all the scouts, it's mesmerizing," he said. "You can't help but think, 'They're here to see me. ' But you can't go up there thinking that one at-bat might make or break you. You have to focus on what's at hand. Not getting to hit sometimes, that's frustrating. I want to hit, and they want to see me hit. "

Scouts just don't watch. As part of their scrutiny, they usually ask top prospects to take a personality test with close to 200 questions.

"Some of them are amazing," Davis said. "Let me think of one. OK. One was, 'Are you scared of wild animals even if they're in strong cages? ' The choices were yes, uncertain or no."

He smiled. "I put no."

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DAVIS BECOMES THE PADRES TOP CATCH

Jun 02, 1995

by Ted Silary, Daily News Sports Writer

Ben Davis faced no curveballs on the biggest day of his young life, but did endure three false alarms.

Davis, a sensational, switch-hitting catcher at Malvern Prep, was ensconsed in the eye-popping baseball room of his family's home in Aston, Delaware County, shortly after 1 p.m. yesterday, surrounded by friends and relatives and camera crews from most of the local TV stations.

Then the telephone rang.

"Shhhh, shhhh," everyone said, as camera lights flicked on.

Oops. It was a friend.

And rang again.

Oops. It was the kid who rooms at Vanderbilt University with Ben's brother, Glenn, a freshman first baseman.

And rang again.

Oops. It was the Davises' adviser, Ron Shapiro.

And rang again.

No oops this time. The lights and cameras stayed on. The San Diego Padres were calling.

As predicted by insiders, the Padres indeed made the 6-3, 180-pound Davis the No. 2 pick in baseball's amateur draft behind University of Nebraska outfielder Darin Erstad.

"Awwwwriiight," a beaming Davis said as he received the good news.

Bill Davis, Ben's father, said last night San Diego agreed to pay Ben a signing bonus of $1.3 million, plus unspecified perks worth another $200,000. The contract is expected to be signed today after the Davises fly to San Diego.

"We're very happy," Bill said. "We came down, they went up and we met in the middle. Everything went smoothly. Ben is being compensated very well to give up going to college (he signed with Miami last fall) and perhaps play on the Olympic team next year. "

Said Padres general manager Randy Smith: "We've covered all of our bases. The kid wants to play. "

Since the draft was instituted in 1965, no product of a Philadelphia-area high school has been picked No. 1. Davis is now tied for highest-to-go honors with Cheltenham High grad Reggie Jackson, a No. 2 pick by the A's in '66 out of Arizona State. Other notable No. 2s were J.R. Richard, Joe Carter and Will Clark.

The city-leagues' highest-to-go record had been held by first baseman- outfielder Tito Nanni, of Chestnut Hill Academy, the No. 6 pick in '78 by Seattle.

In 25 games this season, Davis hit .507 (36-for-71) with four doubles, seven triples, six homers and 37 RBI. He walked 21 times, struck out seven times and gunned down eight of 12 basestealers.

Veteran scouts told Baseball America they considered Davis the best high school catcher they had seen since Dale Murphy, who later became an outfielder, was picked No. 5 by Atlanta in 1974. In its rankings, BA called the strong-armed, ultrasmooth Davis the nation's best defensive player among high school prospects and the third-closest to the majors.

"I know I'm a good player, but to be picked No. 2 . . . that's hard to imagine with all the great players in this country in high schools, colleges and junior colleges," Davis said. "I can't believe it, really. "

When Bill Davis was asked to comment on being the father of a No. 2 pick, he laughed.

"I never thought of it in those terms," he said. "How 'bout that! I am the father of the No. 2 pick, huh? Through all of this, I just thought in terms of what it would mean to Ben. Anyone with kids would understand that. "

Friday night, Ben attended the Phillies-Padres game with his father, brother, mother, Cheryl, and the Padres' scout who covers this area, Rene Mons. A Phillies official contended that night the Padres and Davises had already agreed to financial terms.

"We kind of thought San Diego was going to be the one," Bill Davis said. ''But there was a lot of mystery, too. "

Late word out of San Diego had the Padres perhaps changing their mind and choosing outfielder Jose Cruz Jr., of Rice; he went No. 3 to Seattle.

"I was starting to expect the unexpected," Bill Davis said.

Not Ben, whose full name, by the way, is Mark Christopher Davis.

("I always wanted to have three sons, Glenn, Ben and Ken," Bill said. ''My wife insisted on Mark Christopher when Ben was born. She thought I was nuts wanting to call him Ben. Guess that's why we never had a Ken. ")

"I had confidence San Diego would take me," Ben said. "We got calls (Wednesday night) from the scouting director, Kevin Towers, and the general manager, Randy Smith. Both were saying it looked like I'd be the pick. "

Ben went to bed about 12:30.

"I never have trouble sleeping," he said.

He woke up at 9:30, cut the grass, took a shower and went to the supermarket for his mom.

"I was only gone about 20 minutes," he said. "When I got back, all the TV vans were in the driveway. It was wild. "

Ben, who will graduate next Thursday, is rarin' to start his pro career. He will be assigned to Idaho Falls in the short-season Class A Pioneer League.

"I know they must grow potatoes out there," Ben said. "I'll get some cowboy boots and country music and have a good, ol' time. "

As for what he might do with his cash windfall . . .

"I'll put it in the bank and live off my minor league salary," he said. ''I know the money's not great, but for an 18-year-old, it's not a bad job to start out with. "

Not one little splurge?

"Maybe I'll get a nice sound system for my car," he said.

The car is older than the Padres. San Diego began playing in the National League in 1969. Davis drives a '68 Mustang.

"It just has a normal radio now," he said.