20th ANNIVERSARY: 1995 Ben Davis taken 2nd overall in the June Draft

We have a sort of Phillies related post this AM. 20 years ago this month Ben Davis out of nearby Malvern Prep HS was drafted 2nd overall by the San Diego Padres.

1995 Topps Traded #74T Ben Davis Draft Pick

Davis' Playing career is really not #2 overall pick worthy. He stuck in the Majors for seven seasons half of which were with the Padres. His best year was 2001 when he led NL catchers in games with 135 with a career High 11 Homers and 57 RBIs.

Ben Davis ended his career with a 2.7 WAR placing him 10th among 1st round draftees for 1995. Among the players the Padres passed on to get Ben Davis were Todd Helton (61.2 WAR), Kerry Wood (27.7), and Roy Halladay (64.6).  The player drafted in front of Davis was Darin Erstad who compiled a rather surprising 32.3 career WAR.

The Phillies never had a chance at Davis and missed on both of their 1995 1st round picks Reggie Taylor (14th, -0.5 WAR) and Dave Coggin (30th, +0.3). The Phillies did score a modest victory with Marlon Anderson in the 2nd round, 42nd Pick 7.2 WAR.
flip

1995 Topps Traded #74T Bend Davis Draft Pick

Today Ben does Color Commentary on Phillies TV Broadcasts. He does a good job and I am happy to have a catcher's perspective in the booth. 

Sources and Links
Baseball-ref
Baseball Cardpedia

Where are they Now - Ben Davis

1995 Topps Traded #74T Ben Davis Draft Pick

I wanted to reference a recent article in our paper about former Padres catcher Ben Davis. Davis is from the Philadelphia area and was the 2nd overall pick in the 1995 draft. He spent parts of 7 seasons in the Majors with he Padres, Mariners, and White Sox.

Ben is still playing professionally but not at the Major League level - and not as a Catcher. Ben is trying to get back to the Majors as a Pitcher for the Camden Riversharks of the independent Atantic League.

One of Davis' Riversharks starts was even mentioned in Paul's Random Stuff.

The Ben Davis card above is his rookie card from the 1995 Topps Traded set which is an odd set due to the strike that ended the 1994 season. In addition to the many draft picks and other prospects in the set there is a solid group of veterans that changed clubs due to being unsigned during the strike.

1995 Topps Traded #74T Ben Davis Draft Pick (b-side)

It is interesting to get a look at the flip side of the Davis card. It features his high school batting numbers. Due to playing here in the northeast there is an incredibly small sample size of at-bats. I am sure that Davis played on many a travel team while learning his craft.

Best of Luck to Ben Davis. He was never a Phillie, but he is a local guy and this is a fun story to follow.