Ben Davis, a former top Padres draft pick, returned this week to San Diego as a TV broadcaster with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Life, he said, is very good.
He’s married with four children. Loves the job. Holds dear the Phillies, his childhood team. But, he said, he deals straight commentary because that’s what Philadelphians demand. Appreciative of how hard baseball is to play, he doesn’t “just blast” ballplayers when if they fail. He’s grateful for the prolonged family time afforded by the long offseasons.
He’s 42.
He was 18 when the Padres drafted him second — in the whole draft — out of a suburban Philadelphia high school in 1995.