Davidson Overcomes Life's Struggles, Finds Home at Brookhaven

If there's anyone who understands perseverance, Dustin Davidson does.

A 6-foot-5, 220-pound sophomore left-handed pitcher at Dallas College Brookhaven, Davidson is built for overcoming tough circumstances. His father, Ben Davidson, died of a heart attack on Aug. 15, 2020, two weeks before Dustin's freshman year of college. Ben was a well-known Canadian carver, whose work was exhibited in galleries around the world.

"I wouldn't say I'm honoring him directly by playing baseball," Dustin began. "I play baseball because I love to play the game of baseball, and I've been playing it since I was three years old. Although me pursuing a baseball career wasn't something my father and I saw eye to eye on, he knew I loved the game, and that I had extreme passion. My father had a lot of respect for people pursuing their passion, and moving beyond their fears. Even if he didn't necessarily understand my passion for baseball, he was proud that I was pursuing my dream, and not letting fear stand in my way. I was persistent I was going to be an MLB player. I told it to his face as we were having a conversation about my future.

"When he passed away, I made it clear to myself that I wasn't going to stop at anything until I honor my words to my father. My father once told me, 'Life doesn't care what happens to you. You have two choices when it comes to life: either you curl up and die or you … take that one step forward, and keep going no matter the situation. The world doesn't owe you anything.' I recall this conversation and lesson every day, and use it to keep going because I know that's what my father wants me to do."

The year his father passed away, Davidson was also stripped of baseball due to COVID-19 restrictions. That put his plans on pause. Last year, when his freshman season in college finally materialized, Davidson was used in a limited capacity at Allen Community College in Iola, Kansas. A native of Haida Gwaii, Canada, he appeared in seven games, striking out 10 batters in 8.1 innings. He transferred to Brookhaven after Bears assistant coach Jake Lindmeier worked with him in summer ball in Canada.

"Any kid who loses their parents, especially all of a sudden, early on in their young adult lives, it bothered him a little while before he figured how to deal and cope with it," Bears head coach Shaquille Thomas said. "But then he wanted to get back in baseball. I think baseball kind of gives him that escape, I would say, of him being a kid again, being able to do things that he loves and enjoys.

"Our assistant coach, Jake, going up and seeing him and coaching him, they built a really good relationship. Jake worked heavily with the pitchers this summer out in Canada. He was telling me every day about how well Dustin had been throwing. Dustin came in right out of relief, and he finished a game, going five or six innings. So it was that kind of stuff that raised my eyes about this. I'm like, 'Who is this kid? What's his story?' That's how we kind of ended up building that relationship with Dustin. Having a really good summer, and being a really competitive guy, that's kind of how he ended up being here at Brookhaven. Him wanting to go against hitters that are going to challenge him, going against consistent lineups, he wanted to be in that competitive spot. College scouts, professional scouts, they look at guys that play. It doesn't matter what level you go to. It's all about, can they see you play, and then can you be effective at the highest level within the level that you are at?"

Lindmeier gravitated toward Davidson right away.

"No. 1, he's a big, physical kid, and had success with us (in Canada) last summer," Lindmeier said. "The other piece of it, he's a good kid who just needed a little bit of guidance. He kind of took to me over the summer. We needed more pitching (at Brookhaven) for the year, so I offered him a spot. He was all in on it as soon as we started talking about it. He's a great kid. The family's great when I met him there."

Needless to say, Davidson was stoked about becoming a Bear.

"I came to Brookhaven because it gave me a chance to win a national title and get seen," he said. "I really like the program they're putting together. It gave me a really good option and the ability to network myself. I like the competitive environment that Brookhaven offers, and being a part of the program. We're a bunch of dogs. One through nine, we're all dogs. We have a lot of depth. I think everybody wants the same goal to win a national championship. At the end of the year, everybody wants to get to Greeneville, Tennessee, so I think that's a huge upboost in the environment."

Coming from Haida Gwaii, which is located on an island on the north coast of British Columbia in the Gulf of Alaska, Davidson realized right away the heat in Texas was nothing like home. In a similar way, the intensity of the baseball here ratcheted up a few notches, too.

"Every at-bat is competitive here," he said. "One through nine, they're all competitive. I think the biggest difference is the competition."

Nevertheless, he still takes the same approach to the game.

"Personally, my mentality doesn't change," Davidson said. "If you do change your mentality, it will affect you, one through nine. There's no difference in my head. Noticing it statistically, there is. But I think just going up on the mound, and having confidence in myself that it doesn't matter who it is, I can get them out. Whether it be getting a strikeout or a ground ball, it doesn't matter. I have some of the best defense behind me. So just trusting my teammates and trusting myself would be the biggest thing."

Of course, he pronounces "out" with the typical Canadian nasal accent, and his teammates have picked up on it.

"Yeah, quite often," Davidson said. "They get on me about how I say, 'about,' obviously, and, 'sorry,' It's always just joking, and stuff like that. We have fun with it."

Davidson, who has a 3.0 grade point average in general studies, wants to play baseball for a living.

"I want to play in the MLB," he said. "As of right now, I'm just using academics as a stepping stone to get there. My focus is baseball."

For the Bears, he offers an intimidating presence out of the bullpen.

"Seeing a guy 6-5 and 200 on the mound at any level is kind of imposing," Thomas said. "Everything he throws moves. No pitch he throws is straight. If you're a lefty batter, facing that lefty pitcher, he throws his breaking ball that starts behind that batter, and the ball looks like it's coming at the batter. We've had a lot of batters on our team that just turned out of the way, and the ball ends up in the strike zone. He's going to be one of the guys we come to early out of the bullpen if someone gets in trouble early. We're going to kind of ride him out as many innings as we can from there. He's a guy who's been durable for us throughout the fall.

"He's a funky-throwing lefty. He's kind of crafty with an unusual arm slot. He kind of gives you a reminder of a Chris Sale (Boston Red Sox) arm slot. He gives a rocker- hippieish-type look, but he's also a quiet person until you get to know him. Then he begins to get more comfortable in his element. He's a person that goes about everything business-like. Everything he does is with a purpose, and he takes it seriously."

Lindmeier noticed that right away.

"He's just an absolute competitor on the mound," he said. "He's huge for us as far as a reliever goes. He's an absolute dog to have when you're winning late in the game. He went through a lot a couple years ago, so just getting him back on the baseball field, that's probably why you'll hear him talk about baseball a lot because it's kind of his reliever. The dude, he comes out and just competes every day. He's fun to be in the dugout with, and the guys seem to love him so it's one of those situations where he's just adding to our roster."

Davidson has one word to describe his pitching style.

"Nasty," he said. "Just let it eat. Get nasty with it."

That edge about him adds a defining element to the Bears' bullpen.

"Just his confidence that he has, the calmness and perseverance about him …" Thomas began, "I think with him dealing with a lot of stuff that's happened in his life, the trials and tribulations, being able to bounce back from those, helps his style of play as well. It's just not being afraid, and being that competitor, knowing he has the defense behind him to be able to get guys out as well."

Davidson is definitely different, but in a way, that's the theme of Brookhaven baseball this year. The fact that he came to Texas from an island near Alaska is fitting.

"That kind of ties into what we have going as a program, itself," Lindmeier said. "I mean, we have a lot of Texas kids here, but we have a kid from North Carolina … I'm from Wisconsin, myself, so it's a melting pot from that aspect. It's fun bringing guys together, and letting them get to see a different atmosphere from what they're used to, and seeing them thrive. Some of them need to go five steps from home and stay home, and some guys need to go 1,000 miles away."

This year, Dustin Davidson found a new home at Brookhaven.