Before He "Uncled" a Star Athlete . . .

As you can imagine, some of the players now starring for city leagues' teams are the nephews
of guys who also starred. Since I'm ancient (smile), I wrote stories about them during their high
school careers.
We hope you enjoy this feature (a takeoff of Before He Fathered a Star Athlete).
Would you like to see a story about someone who starred in the Public, Catholic or Inter-Ac
leagues and now has a nephew doing likewise (assuming I did one on him)? Send me a note at
tedtee307@yahoo.com.

Thanks,
Ted

This story is about Ben Davis, a first-magnitude baseball
star (catcher) for Malvern Prep in the mid-'90s. He was the
No. 2 pick in the 1995 draft and went on to play in the
majors. His nephew, Alex Hornibrook, now stars at QB
for Malvern and is bound for Pitt. Continued success to Alex
as a student-athlete and to Ben, who's now a TV analyst.

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

by Ted Silary

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."