• 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame Classic Box Score (PDF)
• A Photo Gallery Of The Baseball Hall of Fame Classic

It’s probably safe to say that University of Evansville senior-to-be pitcher Corey Davisson will have one of the best answers to the question “What did you do on your summer vacation?” this fall when he returns to campus, as on Sunday, Davisson joined Major League Baseball Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson, Paul Molitor, and Bob Feller, among others, on the diamond of Cooperstown’s Doubleday Field for the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame Classic.

Davisson, a native of Bakersfield, California, was selected to the game by former Major League Baseball general manager Dan Duquette, who happens to own Davisson’s summer league team, the Pittsfield American Defenders of the wooden-bat New England Collegiate Baseball League.  Davisson was selected as one of the three representatives of the American Defenders, a group partially owned by the U.S. Military, which features the college wooden-bat team Davisson plays on, a military all-star team, a Latin all-star team, and an independent Minor League team in the Can-Am League.

After finding out about playing in the Hall of Fame Classic late Saturday night after Pittsfield’s 4-3 extra-inning victory over the New Bedford Bay Sox (a game which Davisson earned the victory in), Davisson and two other representatives from the American Defenders met at a hotel at 7 a.m. Sunday morning and drove two hours to Cooperstown, New York, where they were taken to the locker room to change.

“When we arrived, they took us down into the locker room and I got placed between former Major Leaguers Johnny Grubb, Ron Robinson, Anthony Telford, and Jeff Kent,” said Davisson.  “It was unbelievable.  I thought, ‘I am getting dressed next to some of the greatest baseball players of my time.’”

Davisson’s name would be called quickly into the game for “Team Wagner” (honoring Hall of Famer Honus Wagner), as after the first inning, Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson called on Davisson and said “Son, you go ahead and take my place out there.  It’s your turn to shine, my time is up today.”  Davisson took the infield with Steve Lyons at shortstop, Kent at second, and former New York Yankee Mike Pagliarulo at first base.

“The last time I played third base, I think that I was 12 years old, because I was usually either pitching or catching,” said Davisson.  “I was really nervous when I first went out there, as there were about 8,000 screaming fans and we were playing on Doubleday Field.  It was unreal.

“It was an honor to replace a guy of such great stature in the game, as Mr. Robinson is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, third baseman of all time.”

Offensively, Davisson would go 0-for-3 in the game against former Major Leaguers Steve Rogers, Jim Kaat, John Doherty, Jim Hannan, and Ron Robinson, although, Davisson helped Team Wagner’s four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning with an RBI ground out to help Team Wagner build a 5-4 lead.  He would then make two plays in the field defensively to help preserve the seven-inning victory.

“I didn’t get a chance to make a play defensively until the seventh and final inning,” said Davisson.  “I caught a pop up in foul ground against the fence near the bullpen mound.  A lot of fans were leaning over the fence trying to catch it, and when I made the catch, I looked up and I got a point from Steve Lyons and Jeff Kent.  It was an amazing feeling not only to just be in the same place as these guys, but to be on the field and to talk to them at the same time was a dream come true.”

Davisson would then make a running throw to first base on a ground ball to the left-side of the infield to end the game.  After the game, Davisson was able to take a VIP tour of the Hall of Fame.  He was able to hold a game jersey and bat of Babe Ruth, while also able to hold the bat of such greats as Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.

“Getting to go on the VIP tour was unreal,” said Davisson.  “Just to feel what the bats were like in those days was amazing.  The bat I held of Babe Ruth’s had marks etched by Ruth around the Louisville Slugger emblem.  I was told that the tally marks represented how many home runs Babe Ruth hit with the particular bat before it broke.  The bat I was able to hold had 28 marks around it.”

While the game and tour made for a long day for Davisson, who did not make it home until around 2 am Monday morning, it was an adventure that he will never forget.

“It was unbelievable to play alongside those guys,” said Davisson.  “They were all little kids at heart.  They were all messing around and joking at the lunch and dinner tables, and to hear the stories they had to tell was interesting.  And, even though they are idols to so many, they are still just regular guys, with the same needs and dreams as anyone else.  They just got to live out their dream on the baseball diamond.”

Davisson will now return to the Pittsfield American Defenders to continue his summer league season.  So far this summer, Davisson has excelled on the mound in the wooden-bat New England Collegiate Baseball League, having gone 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA in four relief appearances.  He has struck out 12 men in 11.2 innings of work, while holding the opposition to a .211 batting average.  Davisson is scheduled to make his first start of the summer today, and has also caught two games for the American Defenders, going 1-for-3 with a single, a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base, and a run scored.  Davisson went 1-1 with a save and a 5.77 ERA in 30 relief appearances this past spring for UE.