sports, such as pick-up basketball games. With copious all-round athletic talent, Davis competed with future Los Angeles Lakers player Byron Scott at Baldwin Hills Park and Recreation Center from the age of 12, and he aspired to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). While at Baldwin Hills, Davis befriended Darryl Strawberry, and their careers would become intertwined from high school to Major League Baseball (MLB). Davis attended John C. Fremont High School in South Los Angeles where he starred in both basketball and baseball, while Strawberry attended and played for crosstown rival Crenshaw. As a senior, Davis batted .635 and stole 50 bases in 15 games. As a basketball player, he averaged 29 points and 10 assists per game. Steadfast in his goal of playing in the NBA, Davis continued to exert more effort to prepare for a career in basketball than he did in baseball until his senior year of high school. Davis lacked interest in attending college, and because the customary path to an NBA career at the time was by playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), he decided to focus his aspirations on baseball. The Cincinnati Reds selected Davis in the eighth round (200th overall) of the 1980 MLB draft. Strawberry was chosen in the same draft as the first overall selection by the New York Mets. Early career In his first full year of professional baseball, Davis pilfered 40 bases in 62 games. When Davis first appeared in the major leagues in 1984, his physical talents gave him the potential to be one of the most exciting players in the game. He was a rare five-tool player with home run power as well as sheer speed on the base paths. He made a habit of robbing home runs and elicited comparisons to Willie Mays. Davis began to excel in 1986, batting .277, swatting 27 homers, and stealing 80 bases. He and Rickey Henderson remain the only players in major league history to be members of the "20/80 club". In a 162-game span (June 11, 1986 – July 4, 1987) he made 659 plate appearance and batted .308/.406/.622 with 47 homers, 149 runs, 123 RBI, and 98 stolen bases. (He was caught stealing just 12 times.) Davis continued to build on his success in 1987. On Opening Day, he went 3–for–3 with a home run, a stolen base, and two walks. Through the first