Elmhurst Native Adjusts to Minor League Baseball

Adam Davis, a native of Elmhurst, popped out of the home clubhouse of Ripken Stadium north of Baltimore wearing a blue plastic glove, the ones used by medical personnel, on his left hand.

"Off the field he is a real goofball," infielder Joe Velleggia, a teammate with Davis on the Aberdeen (Md.) IronBirds, said before Friday's game against Staten Island. "He likes to amuse people."

As if on cue, Davis, a former baseball standout at Driscoll Catholic High in Addison, popped the glove like it was a balloon as Staten Island took batting practice several yards away.

Such light moments are needed in the world of minor league baseball, where teams play nearly every day, stay in two- and three-star hotels and can be tempted by late-night fast-food if the are not disciplined.

Davis, 21, a right-handed hitter who grew up in Bloomingdale, was drafted in the 11th round by the Orioles in June after his junior year at Illinois.

He reported to the Orioles' minor league complex in Sarastoa, Fla., played briefly in the Gulf Coast League and then reported to Aberdeen, a member of the short-season New York-Penn League.

"There are always a lot of fans here. There are about 6,000 or 7,000 here every game," said Davis, who lives with a host family near the stadium. "It is always a good atmosphere. Fans are always cheering, even when you are losing. It is great. I like it."

Aberdeen was second in the league, with an average of 6,565 fans prior to play on Friday.

"Every day you get asked for autographs," he added. "We get mail asking us to sign this and sign that. It is fun because you are a minor leaguer. In college you don't have that. I played at Illinois and our field was off campus. We had about 100 fans per game and they were mostly family members. Here we have promotions and our own trading cards."

Even when Aberdeen, which was 22-43 before Friday's game, is at home the days can be long.

"Fans probably don't know how early we have to be here. We have to be here at 2 for a 7 p.m. game," Davis said. "It is a grind. We play every day. It takes a wear and tear on your body."

He said the longest bus trip of the season was about nine hours to Vermont. Players will read, listen to music, sleep or watch movies on the bus on long road trips. One recent movie on the Aberdeen bus was "Heavyweights," from 1995. "It is a great movie," Davis said.

In his first 46 at bats with the IronBirds Davis hit .261 with three doubles, a homer and three RBIs. In 15 games as a catcher, he had just one error for the IronBirds, who play their home games in the stadium named for the family of Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., who grew up just a few miles away.

Aberdeen pitcher Tyler Wilson, who pitched in college at powerhouse Virginia, has thrown to Davis several times this season. "He is a very good receiver," Wilson said of the 2008 Driscoll Catholic graduate. "He is definitely a college catcher. He has had experience on a high level. His mental understanding of the game is impressive. Being on the same page with a catcher is important."

Davis was an all-Big Ten second-team player this spring for Illinois and was named the Big Ten tournament most valuable player. Now he is trying to work his way up the minor league ladder of the Orioles. A possible next step in 2012 would be to make the roster of low Class A Delmarva, a full-season team based in Salisbury, Md., that plays in the South Atlantic League.

Davis said he was not surprised to be drafted by the Orioles.

"I would say they were one of five or six teams that followed me in college," he said. "I was not that big of a prospect in high school."

During the draft in early June he got a call from Bob Szymkowski, a scout with the Orioles based in Chicago. Davis was told he was going to be taken in the 11th round and asked if he was ready to turn pro.

"I said absolutely. I am ready to go," Davis said.

And now that journey, which he hopes ends about 29 miles south at Camden Yards in Baltimore, has begun.