June 5, 2009

Steve Brawner
Special to Rivals High

Matthew Davidson is a list-maker, and on his life's to-do list are some ambitious goals: Golden Glove, All-Star, Hall of Fame.

The third baseman at Yucaipa (Calif.) High School decided as a 10-year-old that he wanted to be a major leaguer. When he wasn't playing, he was studying baseball cards, sitting around the house with a glove or a bat, or doing something baseball-related. His dad throws him batting practice in a cage they have at home.

"I could practice all day," Davidson said. "Today, we'll play our game, and I'll probably go home and I'll hit a little bit, and then I'll go watch a baseball game. I can never get tired of it."

Davidson was 6 feet 3 and 220 pounds when he started playing for the varsity team as a ninth-grader. Excelling that year ? he hit .341 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs ? helped convince him that he might have a future in the sport.

"When he came in as a freshman, he was like a senior," Yucaipa coach Jeff Stout said. "His maturity level and presence were just phenomenal. He was like a man in a boy's body ? one of probably the hardest workers I've ever had. Works on his game constantly, and obviously he's a leader. He's a captain of our team ? and somebody you dream about having in your lifetime as a coach."

Davidson, who is RivalsHigh.com's six-rated prospect for the Class of 2009, is batting .562 (a 2-for-4 performance in his last game actually reduced his average) with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs. Despite playing only his second season at third base, he had managed a fielding percentage of .825. After starting at pitcher the past three years, he has pitched 26-plus innings this season as a closer and has a 1.58 ERA.

Davidson is captain for a team that is ranked 25th on the RivalsHigh Baseball Top 50. After a first-round victory in the state playoffs, the Thunderbirds are 27-2 this season.

His stellar senior season followed a disappointing junior year. After batting .405 as a sophomore, he hit .329 with seven home runs and 22 RBIs as a junior ? all career lows. Frustrated by pitchers avoiding his bat, he was swinging at bad pitches and watching good ones hit the catcher's mitt.

Afterward, Davidson decided to forget about the season, work hard, set tough goals for himself and put the bat on the ball when the opportunity was presented.

Davidson is committed to play for USC, but as the MLB draft nears, he knows his dream of playing professionally could come true sooner rather than later. Scouts line the fences whenever he is playing. Stout describes him as a "can't-miss guy."

But Davidson said he's trying not to pay too much attention to all the distractions around him. He's just trying to have fun playing the game of baseball.

"It just kind of comes second nature and you really just need to focus on what's in between the lines," Davidson said. "You only can control what you can control. You can't control what the scouts do or say, so there's no reason to worry about that. So now I go about my business. I play games. It's just like Wiffle ball, just playing when we were younger. "

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