This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The part of the brain that screams "flight," that tells you to protect yourself, to avoid the threat — Kody Davis claims he's learned to shut it off.
His coach, Bill Kinneberg, has watched the junior second baseman stand tall in the face of 90-plus mile-per-hour fastballs, some of them even hurtling at his face. The hidden switch that Davis has learned to "flick" seems as reasonable an explanation as any for his apparent disregard for his personal well-being.
"He stays in there when I wouldn't have done it, I can say that," Kinneberg said. "But that's Kody Davis, for sure."
By any means necessary, get on base. Standing perhaps an inch or two shy of his 5-foot-8 billing, Davis exemplifies that mentality for Utah baseball (12-20, 4-8).
The Utes are still struggling at the plate, ranking eighth in the Pac-12 with a .261 team average this season and managing fewer hits than all but two conference teams.
But new hitting coach and associate head coach Jason Hawkins has helped sculpt a different approach. Many of Utah's hitters now crowd the plate, and they wear arm protectors to take a pitch to the biceps if they need to. The Utes try to see as many pitches as they can, trying to make up what they lack in power with discipline.
Davis has done more than any Ute to make the new offensive mentality work, leading the team with a .451 on-base percentage. Standing right on the edge of the chalk of the batter's box, he's been hit by pitches 15 times in only 32 games — which doesn't count the number of times umps have called him back thanks to a new college baseball rule requiring hitters to at least try to get out of the way.
"I take a lot of pride in using whatever I've got," Davis said. "I've worked a lot on my bunt game, driving the ball, getting walks, just seeing a lot of pitches. Even if you don't have a lot of pop, if you can see a lot of pitches and get on base, that's what the game is about."
Davis came to Utah as a polished prospect, a 3A MVP who had won three state titles at Juan Diego. His father, Troy, was a ballplayer at Utah as well, and was the coach of Kody's Soaring Eagles teams.
Beginning college was rough: Davis injured his shoulder after six games and had season-ending surgery. The shoulder has never really healed — Kinneberg estimated he's heard of it popping out over a dozen times in the last few seasons — but that doesn't stop Davis. The coaching staff continually reminds him not to dive for ground balls during practice if it puts his shoulder at risk.
Maybe it's that switch again.
"He keeps playing, Kinneberg said, "and keeps doing everything he can to help us win."
Leading off for the Utes, Davis routinely sees seven-, eight- and even nine-pitch counts. Second baseman and No. 2 hitter Cody Scaggari is often preparing for his own at-bat, but still takes a little time to appreciate how Davis stretches pitchers' patience before the rest of the lineup gets their shot.
Already, Utah is hitting better and getting on base more frequently than last season. Kinneberg said it helps that many of Utah's hitters have gotten at least 150 at-bats at the college level.
For his part, Davis would take a shot to the gap any day. But if he needs to, he knows he can stand in the box and take one for the team.
"I want to make them throw strikes," he said. "We're putting in the work, and they need to work to get us out."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Utah at Stanford
Friday, 7 p.m.
Saturday, 3 p.m.
Sunday, 2 p.m.