Hickory Crawdads pitching coach Storm Davis spoke to the club April 5, 2102 about the Crawdads upcoming baseball season. The Crawdads are a minor league professional baseball team, playing in the South Atlantic division. They have been a Class A affiliate of the Texas Rangers since 2009. The team opens their 20th season today in Kannapolis. Hickory won league championships in 2002 and 2004. Last year’s team finished 78-56, and was eliminated in the playoffs by the Greensboro Grasshoppers.
Davis returns for his second season in Hickory after a successful 2011 campaign. The 2011 Crawdads pitching staff combined to lead the SAL with 1199 strike outs and also put together the fifth-lowest team ERA at 3.77.
Davis also had an illustrious career pitching extensively in the Major Leagues. Drafted in the 7th round of the 1979 amateur draft, he went on to post a 113-96 record and a 4.02 ERA in 442 games and 239 starts with Baltimore (1982-86, 1992), San Diego (1987), Oakland (1987-89, 1993), Kansas City (1990-91) and Detroit (1993-94). Winning more than 10 games in five different seasons, his career high in wins came during the 1989 campaign while with the Oakland Athletics. He was also a member of three World Series Clubs, including two winners—the 1983 Orioles, where he won game 4 of the World Series, and the 1989 Athletics. His final season on the mound came in 1992 with the Detroit Tigers.
