CINCINNATI -- Henry Davis was close to being the hero Saturday night. Representing the tying run in the seventh inning, he pounced on a Scott Barlow sweeper and launched it 109.2 mph off the bat, but foul. It was barrelled, but a bit early, instead sending the ball into the night sky by the left field bleachers of Great American Ball Park.
¡°Obviously wish I kept that one fair, pulled the trigger a little too quick on it,¡± Davis said afterwards. ¡°Honestly, when I'm doing that, I'm at my best because I'm seeing it early. See that a half-second later, it's second-deck.¡±
Of course, baseball is a game of results and not hypotheticals. Davis would bounce out to second to end that at-bat, and the Pirates would go on to lose to the Reds, 5-2. But right now, it¡¯s hard to ignore all the hypotheticals around Davis¡¯ game, and it extends beyond one flushly-hit foul ball.
His first callup to the Majors this year was because Joey Bart exited Friday¡¯s game in the second inning with low back discomfort. Bart was doing better Saturday, but the Pirates needed to have two catchers ready to go, so Davis was recalled and relief pitcher Chase Shugart was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Mapping out how long the Pirates keep three catchers on the roster ¨C or how long this stint in the Majors is projected to be for the 2021 first overall Draft pick ¨C is, well, hypothetical.
But then there is the big one that¡¯s surrounding Davis at this point of his career. He¡¯s crushed Minor League pitching. He needs to show he can hit Major League pitchers. You can¡¯t really do that in Indianapolis.
On Friday night, Davis got the call that he would get that opportunity again. His Saturday consisted of a bible study in the morning, the roughly 100 mile drive from Louisville to Cincinnati and the pregame work to get ready to play. Part of that routine is journaling something that he wants to accomplish that day.
Saturday¡¯s entry was simple. Have fun. Enjoy it. Be present.
It hasn¡¯t always been fun.
In 2024, Davis put pressure on himself to make the Opening Day team, to show he was ready to be an everyday catcher after almost exclusively playing right field in his rookie campaign.
Being the best player he could be was secondary, and while he did make the team, he struggled mightily at the dish and was optioned back to the Minors after about a month. When he was recalled, he quickly landed on the injured list with a concussion. When he got another chance later in the year, he again went on the injured list with left hand inflammation after just a few games.
Part of the reason why he is in this hypothetical no-man¡¯s land is because there hasn¡¯t been much opportunity. When those opportunities did present themselves last year, he pressed.
¡°I just put a little extra pressure on trying to make it happen as fast as possible,¡± Davis said. ¡°I came in today and I realized, ¡®dude, I feel phenomenal.¡¯ Probably the best spot I¡¯ve been in since July of ¡®23 in the big leagues.¡±
Remember July 21, 2023? When he took Shohei Ohtani deep twice in one game (the only player to ever do that) and had an .854 OPS? It¡¯s probably a good thing if he¡¯s feeling like that Henry Davis again.
¡°Obviously half the game is getting hot at the right time,¡± Davis said. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m in a great spot. The swings I took tonight were really good cuts. Right where I want them to be.¡±
Davis isn¡¯t trying to press the issue anymore. That backfired last year. If he¡¯s in a better spot mentally and remembering the game is supposed to be fun, his belief is that what¡¯s supposed to happen will happen.
¡°Trust that I'm a very good player, don't have to force it [or] make it happen,¡± Davis said. ¡°... Show that I can be part of the team, help us win and letting it happen and have fun. I've never really had fun and played bad."