Matt Davis played professional baseball over 8 seasons
Matt Davis' hometown Chico Enterprise-Record checked in with him in May 1992, during his third pro season.
Davis' thoughts turned back to 1990, when he'd gone undrafted, then signed on with a semipro team to catch his break, which he eventually did.
"There was a time when I didn't think I'd ever play professional baseball, so if they release me tomorrow, I'd still have gotten to play 180 games more than I ever thought I'd play," Davis told The Enterprise-Record.
Davis ended up playing games over eight pro seasons - more than 700 games in all. He topped out at AAA.
Davis' career began that year in 1990, signed by the Giants as an undrafted free agent out of UC Riverside.
Davis got signed after his semipro manager got called to fill in as manager with the Giants at short-season Everett. The team then had an opening and his old manager called, The Enterprise-Record wrote.
Davis then played the season at Everett. He saw 39 games and hit .270. He hit a game-tying home run in a July game, one of four home runs he hit on the year.
"I didn't know it was out when I hit it," Davis told The Everett Daily Herald after that July home run. "I knew it was good enough for a double or a triple so I listened for the ball hitting off the wall. When I didn't hear it, I looked at the umpire who was trailing me and saw him (give the signal for a home run)."
Davis made single-A Clinton for 1991, hitting .269. He saw high-A San Jose in 1992, along with a six-game stint at AAA Phoenix.
He played 1993 at Shreveport, then moved to the Brewers for 26 games between AA El Paso and AAA New Orleans in 1994.
Davis then moved to independent ball. He finished 1994 at Sioux Falls and returned there for 1995 and 1996. For 1997, he played back home in Chico.
In September 1997, he helped Chico come back from four runs down with a run-scoring hit. The win put them on the brink of a league title.
"If we stay down by only three or four runs, we always have a chance," Davis told The Enterprise-Record. "You want to know why? It's because we don't have a hole in our lineup."
Davis saw 90 games in all for Chico that year and hit .304 to end his career.
- Everett Daily Herald, July 18, 1990: Giants
- Chico Enterprise-Record, May 12, 1992: Chico's Matt Davis enjoying life in pro baseball
- Chico Enterprise-Record, Sept. 8, 1997: Heat on brink of title win
Made the Majors:1,487-31.5%
Never Made Majors:3,227-68.5%-X