Drayer: Alvin Davis continues to be a source of support for the Mariners

On their drive back home from Arizona to Riverside, Calif., when baseball shut down, Alvin Davis and his wife Kim plotted out what life would look like going forward as the coronavirus began to take hold in the United States.

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Their first priority would be to protect Davis’ mom, who turns 100 later this month. That meant not just isolating, but “quarantining” their mail, packages and anything else that might come into their house, going above and beyond the CDC guidelines. The strictest of protocols for good reason in their book.

“Sometimes we shouldn’t be motivated by fear but I had a healthy respect for this,” said Davis. “I just did not want it to be a situation that Mom wouldn’t reach her 100th birthday because of COVID-19 and things that we could prevent.”

From raising him in the Baptist Church, where until recent years she maintained an active ministry at the county jail leading Bible study for incarcerated women, to her grace displayed in making life adjustments throughout the lockdown, mother Mylie remains an inspiration.

“She is the type of person that being outside in our yard and seeing creation is just so meaningful to her,” Davis marveled. “A flower or a humming bird or ground squirrels. She can sit outside with absolute fascination for the smallest things. I admire that in her and I am trying to learn. You know the old cliché about stopping and smelling the roses? In our normal breakneck pace of life if we even notice the roses that’s probably a wonderful thing.”

While in some regards our normal breakneck pace of life has come to a screeching halt, in others the world is spinning more than ever. Davis has been a part of the Mariners staff for the better part of a decade, first as a minor league roving instructor and more recently as a special assistant in player development, and many of the countless Mariners he has worked with have pointed to him as one of their major influences in the organization. They have been on his mind of late.

“I try to encourage them and I try do it from my belief system being a Christian,” said Davis, who became a born again Christian in college (learn more in his interview on Brock Huard’s Above and Beyond podcast). “There has been tremendous challenge inside of this pandemic and I don’t want to minimize the loss of life the loss of livelihood, the way families have been impacted. I don’t want to minimize what has happened at all in our culture more broadly with the protests that are going on right now. So many things that we wanted so badly, that players wanted so badly, that they are not going to be able to realize.

“We let go of nearly 50 players last week. I’ve been through that. I know it’s tough and there are no words that I can give or a justification or reason that is probably going to be satisfactory for the majority of them, but let them know that I am here and I am available. That if some point they want to reach out and talk I am willing to make time and listen.”

As someone who coaches in his baseball life and counsels as an elder with his church, Davis is invested in the art of listening. It is an area in which he is constantly looking to improve and thinks now more than ever is critical to our relationships on all levels.

“I think a part of loving your neighbor is understanding and hearing and listening to your neighbors,” he said. “There’s neighbors who live on your block that are having a problem, and they want to be heard and they want to be understood. What they don’t want is to have their neighbors to just kind of stay inside their home and say, ‘Well, there’s really not much I can do about it, it’s out of my control.’ They would rather have their neighbors say, ‘I hear you, I understand you, and let me think about what I can try and do to possibly move the needle.’”

Davis has seen the importance of listening and getting to know your neighbor as it has been emphasized throughout the Mariners organization. He has been heartened to see teammates stand together in response to the killing of George Floyd and other instances of police brutality that have sparked protests across the country and world.

My boy putting it out there for all to hear. All Lives Matter is another easy way to push the problem to the side. It’s uncomfortable for some to acknowledge Black Lives Matter. And until we acknowledge that, All Lives Matter doesn’t have the substance you think it does. https://t.co/JXgCWPiptZ

— Braden Bishop (@bradenbishop7) June 2, 2020

“It’s our reality,” he said. “We have one of the highest percentages of African American players on the 40-man roster of anyone in baseball. The unity in the clubhouse is very, very important. That doesn’t mean that you always agree, but it does mean that you are willing to listen and you are willing to learn and say, ‘I hear you and I have your back. I support you.’ That means a lot.”

Davis would like to see the same outside the clubhouse walls.

“I was born in 1960. I am a child of the Civil Rights movement. My mom and dad were active in the local NAACP,” he said. “I don’t have vivid memories of it because I was a child but I do remember, and one of the things that I maintain is that this is a human being issue, this is a people created in the image of God issue. This is not just a black or brown issue, it’s all of our issue. It’s all of our challenge to move the needle and sometimes we need scrutiny in order for there to be accountability. I think it is one of the keys in real time for us as Mariners.”

As challenges are faced, Davis hopes to continue to bring what he has brought every day to those around him.

“I want to point people upwards to every opportunity that I have,” he said. “Letting my speech be a reflection of who I am and what I believe. God is the type of God revealed in the scripture who will listen when you cry. I want to emulate that and just give people a chance to be heard and be understood and be encouraged. Being optimistic, being upbeat, because my experience and I think most people’s experience of life can be different depending on how you look at your circumstances. There are challenges, but at the same time I think that there is a lot to be grateful for and I try to leave people in that place rather than in the place of despair.”

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