William "Rookie" Theron Davis (born April 29, 1993) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Career

New York Yankees

Davis attended Dixon High School in

Holly Ridge, North Carolina Holly Ridge is a town in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. The 2010 population was 1,268. The 2020 census population was 4,171. Economy The town's largest employer is J&J Snack Foods. Industrial growth is strengthening with the gr ...

. As a 15-year-old in early 2009, he committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

. Davis was drafted by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in the 14th round of the

2011 Major League Baseball Draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

. He signed with the Yankees instead of attending East Carolina. He made his professional debut in 2012 with the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball ...

. In 2013, he pitched for the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pl ...

and

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Char ...

and spent 2014 with Charleston. He started 2015 with the

Tampa Yankees Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough C ...

before reaching Double-A. Baseball America and MLB Pipeline both ranked him as the organization's 10th best prospect at mid-season. The Yankees added him to their 40-man roster after the season.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 28, 2015, Davis was traded to the Reds with

Caleb Cotham Caleb Kent Cotham (born November 6, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (2015) and Cincinnati Reds (2016). He is currently the pitching coach for the Phila ...

Tony Renda Anthony John Renda (born January 24, 1991) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. Before his professional career, he attended the Univer ...

, and

Eric Jagielo Eric Stephen Jagielo (born May 17, 1992) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played college baseball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Career Amateur Jagielo attended Downers Grove North High School in Downers Grove, ...

in exchange for

Aroldis Chapman Albertín Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz (; born February 28, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds, New Y ...

. He started the 2016 season with the Double-A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

before getting a promotion to Triple-A in August. Davis made the Reds'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster in 2017 and made his major league debut on April 6 against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, allowing four runs in three innings. Davis picked up his first major league win on May 3, pitching 5 scoreless innings over the

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

in a 7–2 win. He was sent back down to Triple-A Louisville on May 10. He returned to the majors in September following the end of the minor league season. After the season, Davis underwent hip surgery. He was outrighted to Triple–A on August 27, 2018, after completing his rehab stint. Davis became a free agent at the conclusion of the season on November 2.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On February 18, 2019, Davis signed a minor league deal with the

and was invited to spring training. He was reassigned to Triple-A on March 26. His contract was purchased on May 25. Davis appeared in five games before landing on the Injured List on June 8 with a blister. He suffered a forearm injury while on rehab assignment and was later transferred to the 60-day Injured List. On September 1, Davis was outrighted off the Pirates roster and he elected free agency following the season.

Personal life

Rookie got engaged to Allison Fisher on September 28, 2019. Davis' father, Billy, also attended Dixon High School, and played

for

Louisburg College Louisburg College is a private Methodist-affiliated two-year college in Louisburg, North Carolina. History Louisburg College has its roots in two schools: Franklin Male Academy, which was chartered in 1787, re-chartered in 1802 but held it ...

. His older sisters, Lauren and Ayrien, both played

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

at Dixon.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Rookie 1993 births Living people People from Onslow County, North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Pittsburgh Pirates players Gulf Coast Yankees players Staten Island Yankees players Charleston RiverDogs players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Louisville Bats players Indianapolis Indians players Arizona League Reds players Daytona Tortugas players