Former Braves batboy and player Taylor Davis gets coaching debut for the 2015 season
“I’ll quit when I get tired of showing up to the ballpark," says Staunton Braves pitching coach Taylor Davis.
Davis earned his coaching debut this 2015 season but his journey with the Braves started 14 years ago. The Davis family has been a host family for Staunton since 2001.
In 2003, Taylor made the decision that he wanted to be the batboy for the Braves and when he grew too old to be a batboy he was promoted to equipment manager. As a kid, Davis looked up to Matt Ingram, a left-handed pitcher for the Braves in 2003 and 2004 from the University of South Florida. “I was basically always in his pocket, I always sat next to him on the bus,” says Davis.
“Even though I was hanging out with guys a lot older than me, I felt a part of the group. Being around them and the ballpark propelled me to play in college,” says Davis, who played four years on the bump for Ferrum College. Davis was a four-year academic all-conference honoree as a Panther and graduated with a double major in history and social studies in 2014.
General manager Steve says Taylor has “always had a passion for the game of baseball.” Cox believes that Davis “learned more about how to play when he was a batboy than he could have learned by playing travel ball at that age.” By paying attention to the practiced game play of older college players, Davis gained experience that other boys his age weren’t witness to.
Last year, following his senior year at Ferrum, Davis joined the Braves’ pitching staff and transitioned from batboy to player. In his ten appearances from the bullpen Davis fanned four batters in 12 innings pitched with a 1.46 era. Davis says playing summer ball for his hometown team was an “incredible experience he will never forget.” He finished the season being named one of the top relief pitchers for the 2014 season by All Things Valley League.
This year Davis returns home again to make the shift from player to coach and will bring his experience from Ferrum back to the mound. “He’s going to be a good baseball coach because of his understanding of the game and players,” says Cox. Davis says his ultimate goal is to become the head coach at a college program but it’s a process and for right now he is focused on the season at hand and doing everything he can for the Braves.
The Braves have started this season red hot with an 9-1 record. The team’s next game is set for tonight, on the road against the Waynesboro Generals at 7 p.m.
-Matt Kim
