It pays to play

By Joe Mason

For the Times

Harry Davila is a baseball purist, so he knows a lot about past greats.

And when the recent graduate of Frankford High School had to do a report on a historical figure, he picked Roberto Clemente.

"I knew he did a lot for baseball and he was a great player," Davila said. "I spent a lot of time researching everything about him and I couldn't believe all he did for the game. I really enjoyed doing that report, letting everyone know what a great guy Roberto Clemente was. I'm a huge baseball fan and I didn't know all about him until I did that. I was really impressed."

Clemente, an outfielder and Hall of Fame great who played 18 years for the Pittsburgh Pirates, died in a plane crash on Dec. 31, 1972 while delivering aid to victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua.

Because of Davila's hard work, dedication, and for just being an all-around great kid, the Phillies recently gave the teen the Roberto Clemente Scholarship. Along with the honor, Davila received $2,000 toward his tuition at Penn State-Abington in the fall.

It also earned him a chance to accept the award on the field at Citizens Bank Park recently before the Phillies played the Toronto Blue Jays.

"It was a huge honor," said Davila, who was nominated by Paul Johnson, his coach for the Philadelphia Lighthouse team. "I was nominated by coach Johnson and then coach (Juan) Namnun also helped me get it. It was really great to go on the field before the game.

"I didn't get a chance to see any of the players warm up, because it was raining before the game, so they just kind of came out and played, but it was really great to be out there, in front of the whole stadium."

Receiving the award was certainly an honor, but the money was truly a blessing.

Penn State-Abington has a Division 3 baseball team, so Davila was unable to earn any scholarship money for playing there. He did manage to get some help because he's a strong student in the classroom, but money was going to be an issue.

Not anymore.

"Honestly, I was looking at things and before I got the award, I was about two-thousand dollars short," Davila said. "You have no idea how much this money means. I was honored to get the award, the scholarship . . . the money is a huge help. I was very grateful."

Now Davila is just enjoying his summer while doing the one thing he loves more than anything else - playing baseball.

Because Davila injured his shoulder during the high school season, he decided to play for just one team this summer. It was a tough choice, but he decided to go with the Lighthouse squad, which is part of the RBI Phillies program.

Also, because of the injury, Davila is staying off the pitcher's mound.

"I'm just playing middle infield so I can get my arm muscles some rest," Davila said. "It was tough to pick a team. I usually play for three or four teams, and I did want to play in the Penn Del League, but I didn't want to do too much. I got fall ball at Penn State and I want to be ready for that."

He'll also be ready to study.

Davila is going to Penn State undecided, but ever since he hurt his arm, he has become fascinated with physical therapy. If that interest continues, he'll likely major in it.

"They had me in to get better and they really helped me," Davila recalled. "They got me back on the field. If I could help a kid like that some day, I'd like to do it."

But until then, he'll just continue to help his team while preparing for the future.

"I'm really excited about Penn State now that it's getting closer," said Davila, who lives in Kensington. "They have a good team and their coach told me that if I came there, I'd have a chance to start and I'd play right away. That was one of the reasons I wanted to go there.

"But I really like everything about it. I can't believe it's almost time to start playing college baseball."

Joe Mason can be reached at joemason70@hotmail.com