He made a key error that allowed two runs to score Wednesday in the Orioles' 5-4 loss to the Pirates, but when Blake Davis showed up at Camden Yards today, he saw his name was in the starting lineup and he's back at second base.
"Yeah, it's nice," Davis said, two days after his major league debut. "It shows a little bit of confidence in me and I was kind of excited when I saw my name. I'll just get back out there and get ready to play."
Davis said many of his O's teammates were encouraging and supportive after that game with the Pirates.
"They've been supportive. They said, 'Hey, shake that play off.' They were pumped that I was making my debut and were all excited for me, and it was cool.
"After the game, Willie Randolph and some of the coaches were just, 'Shake it off, don't worry about it. You can play this game.' And Mike Gonzalez said, 'Don't worry about it, you're good.' So all the guys were supportive. It was really nice to hear that those guys have got my back," Davis said.
Davis was batting .284 with five homers and 24 RBIs in 49 Norfolk games when he was called up over the weekend. Wednesday was a day of mixed emotions for him. He was thrilled to be making his big league debut at 27, but then there was the error that dampened his day.
"Yeah, a little bit. You definitely think about it. But you've got to make that play. The thing everybody was saying was right. I've got to make that play. I was telling my family, 'Oh, I've got all day to think about that.' But you know, you move on from it. It's in the past. You can't do anything about it. You grow from it, get better and go forward."
A fourth-round draft pick out of Cal State Fullerton in 2006, Davis took some time before today's game to soak everything in at Camden Yards.
"Just taking a look around, trying to get a feel for taking ground balls out there. But it's pretty awesome-looking out there. Just getting familiar with the field, getting some early work, just working on some feeds and turning double plays and stuff like that, just getting really familiar with the field."
Davis had not played at second base in Triple-A this year but said that was no excuse for making that error.
"It's not that different. Playing shortstop your whole life and then you start moving around, it's just like you're kind of on the opposite side. But once you get used to it, get a good feel, you're fine," he said.
After playing over 500 minor league games over six seasons, starting with Delmarva and now making it to Baltimore, this is a special time for Davis.
"Real special, especially that one year breaking my foot. I thought I was kind of close in '09. Just battling back and banging around, it's real special being here.
"I just needed to get healthy and prove that I can play coming off that year, I really thought I had a good year and going into the spring, I had something to prove, to show that I can play," he said.
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