When a funny movie scene gets you released
Scribbled Notes on a Cocktail Napkin: It was charming when Crash Davis did it. In real life, it got Derek Bender released. Plus more stories of other Crash Davis'
Scribbling from Albuquerque
My favorite baseball movie is Bull Durham. It’s no exaggeration to say that I’ve watched the movie start-to-finish over 50 times, plus countless more views of some of the famous scenes, and can recite almost line in the movie verbatim.
So when a bizarre story emerged this week involving a minor league catcher for the Minnesota Twins telling opposing batters what pitches were coming, I immediately thought, “that’s the scene from Bull Durham.”
In case you never saw the movie, or forgot, or just want to enjoy the scene again, this is the first time Crash told an opponent what pitch was coming.
In the movie, it’s a funny scene, a clever plot device to illustrate how veteran catcher Crash Davis is wise, and young braindead heaving pitcher Nuke LaLoosh is taught, “don’t think; just throw.”
But in real life, it was no laughing matter. The catcher was released. Here’s a few paragraphs from the ESPN.com story.
The Minnesota Twins released minor league catcher Derek Bender on Thursday after he told opposing hitters the types of pitches that were coming to the plate during at-bats in the game last week that eliminated his team from playoff contention, sources told ESPN.
Bender, a sixth-round draft pick out of Coastal Carolina in July, was playing for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Twins' Single-A affiliate. In the second game of a Sept. 6 doubleheader, Bender told multiple hitters for the Lakeland Flying Tigers, a Detroit farm team, the specific pitches being thrown by starter Ross Dunn, sources said.
Fort Myers coaches were notified by Lakeland coaches about Bender's pitch tipping after the game, sources said. Bender's willingness to tip pitches surprised Lakeland players, and there were no indications of wrongdoing from the Flying Tigers, sources said. Bender had told teammates he wanted the season to be over, according to sources.
Bender spent the final two games of the season, which the Mussels won, in the team's bullpen instead of his typical place in the dugout, sources said.
If true, the actions of Derek Bender are inexcusable. It’s possible his professional baseball career is over. I don’t know how you ever regain the trust of your teammates after telling the opponent what pitches are coming.
For new subscribers: Hi, I’m Josh, a former newspaper reporter who is now the play-by-play announcer for the Albuquerque Isotopes (the Rockies Triple-A affiliate). I write essays on baseball, life, and promote my other side projects on this Substack Newsletter. Subscriptions are free and tips are appreciated.
What if Crash Davis was real?
The actual story made me rethink the entire Bull Durham movie through a 2024 lens of “what if this was real?”
It’s been a long time since I’ve written a hard news story, but let me take a crack here at an investigative piece into Crash Davis.
The Atlanta Braves released veteran minor league catcher Crash Davis after a disturbing series of incidents came to light this season with the Single-A Durham Bulls.
The Braves bought out Davis’ Triple-A contract and sent him to Single-A Durham specifically to mentor prized pitching prospect Nuke LaLoosh. But sources told Sue Shawn Says that after a love triangle went south with an notorious female Bulls fan, Davis’ leadership tactics resulted in questionable behavior that threatened the health and safety of the pitcher.
Davis, according to opponents and confirmed by umpires, told opposing players multiple times what pitch was going to be thrown in retaliation for the young pitcher shaking off the veteran catcher. Once, it cost LaLoosh a shutout when the batter homered.
Teammates also told stories in which the bitter catcher forced the rookie pitcher to hit the mascot in a game with a pitch, accosted him on a team bus when he was trying to lighten the mood by playing the guitar, and nearly ruined his career by starting a bar fight with the pitcher just hours before his scheduled flight to the major leagues.
“At first, it was kinda funny, you know, it’s an older player, he’s been around and seemed to have a lot of wisdom,” said one Bulls player, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation. “But pretty soon, we realized it was cruel. He had like 21 days in The Show or something like that. He used to brag about it. All of us were scared of the guy. It was a relief when he finally got released.”
Sources in the Carolina League also pointed at Davis as the ringleader when four players broke into a visiting ballpark holding six-packs of beer, turned on the sprinklers and ran around the field. The field was flooded, forcing the next game to get postponed. The prank cost the team $50,000 in damages to the field and ruined a sold out community event at the ballpark that was planned for months.
When the Carolina League confronted Davis with the bill for damages to the field, he reportedly said, “give it to the bonus baby” and walked away.
A second umpire crew confirmed that when a bat boy tried to encourage Davis during an at-bat, the unmarried and childless catcher told the boy, “shut up.” Multiple fans at Durham Athletic Park confirmed Davis was ejected for yelling, “you’re a cocksucker” to an umpire in front of dozens of young fans.
When the Braves released Davis, the organization told him it was because LaLoosh was in the majors and they had a catcher hitting .300 at Bluefield they wanted to challenge at a higher level.
But sources indicate upper management in Atlanta became aware of Davis’ bullying and that the Bulls coaches were complicit. When the Durham manager recommended Davis as a future manager for an opening in Visalia next season, the Braves human relations department intervened.
“The coaches absolutely knew he was doing it,” the anonymous player said. “They did nothing to stop him. He was supposed to be mentor to this kid. Instead, he tortured the poor guy psychologically.”
Before the news about Davis’ behavior became known throughout the baseball industry, the Houston Astros signed Davis and sent him to Class-A Asheville in the South Atlantic League. Some of Davis’ ex-teammates with the Bulls contacted their friends on the Tourists to warn them about Davis.
Davis wasn’t with the Tourists very long. After hitting a home run, teammates overheard him telling a woman on a pay phone that he’d set a minor league record for career home runs and would see her soon.
When the Tourists management confronted Davis with the allegations from Durham, Davis reportedly smirked and said, “I hit my dinger. I quit.”
Incidentally, The Sporting News triple-checked its database and confirmed that Davis’ 247 home run does not make him the career minor league home run leader.
Let me be clear, I love Bull Durham.
I’m not trying to cancel Bull Durham.
I will always love that movie.
In 2018, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie, the real-life Asheville Tourists came up with this brilliant promotion of giving away a re-created Sporting News cover of Crash Davis breaking the minor league home run record.
Bravo to whoever wrote this Twitter post. The cup of coffee is the ideal prop. The line “the cover Annie always wanted” is very sweet.
Despite all the flaws of Crash Davis through a modern-days lens, it’s a lovable character played with charm by Kevin Costner. [Fun fact, we never learn Crash Davis’ real first name in the movie.]
But much like the alternate theory of Karate Kid — that Daniel was the real bully and Johnny was the innocent victim — my fake news story of Bull Durham does make you think, huh?
Who is the real Crash Davis?
Bull Durham writer-director Ron Shelton came across the name Crash Davis when he was doing research on the history of the Carolina League, loved it, and wanted to make that name the central character of his movie.
His real name was Lawrence Davis. He wasn’t catcher. He was an infielder. Here’s a link to his Baseball-Reference.com page.
He got his nickname when he crashed into another infielder as a teenager. The real Crash Davis attended Duke. He played for parts of the 1940-42 seasons in the majors with the Philadelphia A’s, and seven years in the minor leagues, including the Durham Bulls in 1948.
Shelton asked the real Crash Davis if they could use his name for the movie. When Crash was told the character got the girl at the end of the movie, he agreed.
Crash died in 2001. Here is the New York Times obituary on him.
Who is the modern day Crash Davis?
The similarities between fictional Crash Davis and Cody Decker are pretty remarkable.
Cody Decker was a catcher, but later played the corner infield positions more often. Decker played 11 seasons in the minors and hit 204 home runs. The one and only cup of coffee for Decker was 2015 with the Padres. He got into eight games and had 12 plate appearances.
Just like the fictional Crash Davis, Decker hit a home run in his final game and retired. It was a dramatic walkoff home run for Reno. Decker was the active minor league home run champion at the time.
Decker was a noted prankster who excelled at making humorous videos from the ballpark.
The most famous was in 2014, when then-El Paso manager Pat Murphy organized a prank on Jeff Francoeur that one of their teammates was deaf. The whole team went along with the rouse for a month. Decker made a video that went viral.
Decker currently hosts a sports talk show with Michelle Beadle on SiriusXM.
Who is the real minor league home run champion?
The actual all-time minor league home run champion is Mike Hessman. He wasn’t a catcher like the fictional Crash Davis or an infielder like the real Crash Davis. He was an outfielder and corner infielder.
On August 3, 2015, Hessman broke the 78-year-old record of Buzz Arlett in dramatic fashion, a grand slam for his 433rd career in the minors. That was the final home run of his career. He announced his retirement at the end of the season at age 37.
The knock on Hessman was that he didn’t hit for a high enough average, struck out too often, and was average defensively. I never met him or saw him play. He was never in the Pacific Coast League during my time in the league. I’ve heard he’s a wonderful guy. He’s now a hitting coach for the Tigers triple-a affiliate in Toledo.
Here’s a screenshot of Hessman’s remarkable career statistics.
"Scribbled notes on a cocktail napkin" is my weekly Sunday feature that's a tribute to the sports columnists I grew up reading who penned Herb Caen-inspired three dot columns. It's an excuse to shamelessly plug my other side projects, post my favorite Immaculate Grid from the week with a story about one of the players, link to stories I found interesting, and string together loose topics on my mind.
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