Paul and Pope Davis …

I always knew Paul would do well.

My first team as a youth baseball coach was Pope Davis, named after a tire company in West Columbia (S.C.).  The team had a reputation for not winning.  As I recall, rules in the Pineview league required players to stay on the same team each year until their age prompted a move up to the next league.  Well, Pope Davis had not won a game in two years, maybe three.  Opposing teams liked to play the Pope Davis team I inherited.

Odd, but I can recall names of the five- and six-year-olds on that first team.  Brian at first, Kevin at second, Dalton at shortstop, Phillip at third, John in left field, Torrey in center, Michael in right, Scott behind home plate and Samantha on the mound. But, where was Paul?  The lineup of nine left no position for Paul at the start of the season. He was our first sub.

We emphasized fundamentals the first year.  My theory has always been that no kid ever allows a grounder to go through his legs intentionally, so there’s never a reason to yell after an error.  The kid already feels bad enough; just teach him fundamentals so it might not happen the next time.  On the other hand, nothing wrong with a polite holler to Torrey in centerfield who is trying to catch a grasshopper or to John in left field who is mesmerized by a plane in the sky.  Both true.

So, fundamentals helped Pope Davis win a game the first season, several the second season and – get this – go 16-0 the third season. That’s the year nobody wanted to play Pope Davis.  But, what about Paul?

While Paul was not a starter in his first game for Pope Davis, it was obvious that he was a smart kid – very smart – who always had an enthusiastic attitude, a zest for the game, and a smile.  He could not run very fast, probably the slowest on the team, but nobody out-hustled him and nobody improved faster.  And, he learned to hit the proverbial cover off the ball.

Paul became a starter after just a couple of games.  He first mastered the outfield, then third and second base and then shortstop.  Before the first season ended, he could play any position.  Coaches did the pitching or he probably could have done that as well.  More on that later.  He was picked as an All-Star at the end of the second and third seasons.

The Pope Davis experience was one of those worst-to-first tales.  That’s probably why the names and memories are still fresh after 37 years.  Pretty sure Samantha was the first girl to play in the league; Torrey was probably the first black player, and his brother Kelsey joined us the second year; Scott walked into a swinging bat at practice, lost his front teeth and spent the evening at the emergency room.  My most vivid memory: an outfielder at practice would not come off the field so I went out to get him only to hear “coach, I pooped in my pants.”  I have never summoned a mother to the field so fast.

Shortly after the Pope Davis days, we moved to the Atlanta area and lost touch with most of our West Columbia area players and their parents.  But, the memories of that first team still surface.  And, what about Paul?

Paul went on to be an outstanding player at Lexington High School before playing one year at Clemson University as a pitcher (1.50 earned run average) and then three seasons at Vanderbilt University where he won 14 games as a starting pitcher.  It did not end there.  He was a pitcher in the Boston Red Sox organization where he played for the Gulf Coast Red Sox team as a relief pitcher in 130 games.  He recorded 196 strikeouts in 220 innings pitched.  Not bad for a slow-footed kid who did not start for a winless Pope Davis team as a six-year-old.

But, it doesn’t end there for Paul either.  If you Google the name Paul Seybt, you will find M.D. after his name.  He’s with a group of doctors who provide pathology services at Lexington Medical Center.  Dr. Paul Seybt is the one with the smile.

I always knew Paul would do well.