Fires: Remembering Scat Davis’s only big-league game
From Rick Fires at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette on June 11, 2017:
Former Rogers Heritage pitcher Hunter Wood realized the dream of every Little League player when he made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Rays on May 30.
Wood pitched to one batter and retired him on a popup in the eighth inning of 9-5 defeat to the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas. Wood, who had bypassed Triple-A before his promotion, was told after the game by Rays manager Kevin Cash he was being sent back to the minors at Double-A Montgomery, Ala.
“I told myself ‘I’m not going to get upset,’” Wood said. “They said they hope they see me back real soon.”
Hopefully, Wood, 23, will get another opportunity in the big leagues, but there are no guarantees. What if his career ends with one single appearance in the Major Leagues like Archibald “Moonlight” Graham or Otis “Scat” Davis, formerly of Charleston?
Most every baseball fan knows about “Moonlight” Graham, whose story was popularized in the 1989 film Field of Dreams. Graham played in one game with the New York Giants in 1905. Despite great promise as a ballplayer, Graham never made it back to the Major Leagues and turned to another profession as a doctor before eventually settling in Minnesota.
Few people in Arkansas know the story of Davis, who was born in 1920 on a family farm near Charleston and graduated from Charleston High School in 1941. Charleston didn’t even field a baseball team until Davis’ senior year, and the team played without uniforms.
Read the full article here: http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2017/jun/11/remembering-scat-davis-only-big-league-game/
Originally published: June 12, 2017. Last Updated: June 12, 2017.