Demoted Ike Davis Getting Some Help From Dear Ol' Dad
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Triple-A manager Wally Backman says Ike Davis is "gonna get right" in Las Vegas.
Maybe he will -- with a little family support.
The first baseman, who was demoted by the Mets after a brutal start, asked his father to throw batting practice to him next week when the 51s travel to the Davis family's home state of Arizona, according to the Bergen Record.
"I'm going to come down," Ron Davis told the Record. "We're working on some things that 26 years of watching will help."
Las Vegas will start a four-game set at Tucson on Tuesday, June 18. (Sound familiar? Mets prospect Zack Wheeler is expected to make his big-league debut that day.)
Ron Davis, a former pitcher for the Yankees, told the paper that he knows his son's swing "better than anybody." But Backman has some ideas about how he'll get the hitter back on track, too.
"I think, to be honest with you, I'm going to say that it's probably 80 percent mental for this kid," Backman told WFAN's Mike Francesa on Tuesday. "And that's why we really want to clear his mind and get him right."
Backman said it's time for the 26-year-old to "start fresh."
Davis was batting .161 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 55 games before being sent down. He also struck out 66 times in 186 at-bats.
"I've watched a lot of the video from when he first went to the big leagues, and this kid has made a lot of changes, in my opinion, way too fast," Backman said.
Davis went 0-for-3 in his Las Vegas debut Tuesday with two strikeouts and two walks.
"I don't ever want to come back to the minor leagues after playing in the big leagues for three straight years," Davis told the New York Daily News. "It's not a good feeling."
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
