San Diego Reliever Mark Davis Is Carrying an Added Burden

For nearly four months, Mark Davis had kept this grim secret to himself. His teammates had no clue. His manager, Jack McKeon, never knew. Not even his best friends were told.

“I just didn’t want people feeling sorry for me,” said Davis, the Padres’ star relief pitcher. “I knew if it ever came out during the season, everyone would be consoling me and asking me about it. And I just didn’t want that.”

Now, with reporters, agents and attorneys telephoning his house at all hours since Monday night, when he filed for free agency, Davis has asked to have his privacy respected.

It’s not that he wants to trivialize the importance of where he will pitch next season, but at this particular time, Davis couldn’t care less if he throws another ball the rest of his life.

The reason is that his father is dying of cancer.

And after months of praying and hoping that these new experimental treatments would work, Davis has acknowledged reality.

“For a long time, I refused to believe it,” Davis said, his voice cracking, “but now I know he’s going to die.”

The tumor in Kenneth Davis was discovered three years ago. It was diagnosed as prostate cancer. The family was told not to be alarmed, and after radiation treatments kept the tumor from enlarging, the Davis family was optimistic.

“We always kept a positive outlook, believing it would go away,” Davis said. “My mother is deeply religious, and I think we all had faith everything would be all right.”

But earlier this year, the cancer began spreading. It raced through his father’s thighs, chest and finally, to his head.

“Mark and I really didn’t know how bad it was,” said Candy Davis, Mark’s wife, “because they really downplayed it. When we saw him in April, he looked good, sounded good and felt good. When he had his bad days, they always told us he had a cold or he had the flu or something else like that.

“It was like they didn’t want Mark to know; they wanted to spare him.”

Davis indeed pitched as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He recorded a save in each of his first 11 appearances and had 22 saves by the All-Star break.

When he was informed in July that he was selected to the National League All-Star team by Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, he immediately was on the phone to his father.

“I wanted to make the All-Star team more than anything I’ve ever wanted,” Davis said, “because I knew it might be the last time my dad would ever see me pitch in one. Since the All-Star game was in Anaheim and my folks live in Sacramento, I thought my dad would feel strong enough to make it.”

But it was at the All-Star game that Davis learned just how ill his father had become. He had lost 25 pounds since Mark had last seen him in April, and the cancer had stripped away most of his strength.

“I saw him a day before the All-Star game,” Candy said, “and I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked. He had gone so far downhill in just two months. I really didn’t know if he could even make it to the game.”

With the All-Star workout during the day Monday and festivities at night, Mark never had the opportunity to see his father until Tuesday, after the game.

By that time, Candy had been able to prepare him for the jolt.

“I said, ‘Mark, your dad’s been sick lately,’ “Candy said. “ ‘He’s lost a lot of weight. He’s very weak.’ ”

Kenneth Davis, 63, was so weak, in fact, that he nearly missed the chance to see his son pitch. He was taken to a first-aid station after the first inning and lay on a cot for several innings until he regained his strength.

“I think the excitement, the heat and everything just got to him,” Candy said.

The elder Davis, ignoring the advice of the nurses and first-aid attendants, refused to be detoured now. He did not travel nine hours to listen on the radio as his son pitched in an All-Star game. If Mark was going to be pitching, he was going to be right there watching him.

When Mark entered the game in the sixth inning, there his father was, sitting on the edge of his seat. There could not have been a prouder father, either, when Mark pitched a one-two-three inning, including a strikeout of Bo Jackson.

“You know, to this day, he still talks about the time Mark struck out Bo Jackson,” Candy said. “It just thrilled him so much.”

After the game, when Mark saw his father, and the deterioration that the cancer had caused, his eyes watered but he kept himself from crying. It wasn’t until later, after he was alone with his wife, that he broke down.

“You know, I never had anyone close to me die before,” Davis said. “I had a grandmother who died when I was young, but I really didn’t know her too well. I think she was 94 or 96.

“But my dad, he’s only 63. He hasn’t had a chance to see my daughters (ages 3 years and 7 months) grow up, develop their own personalities. It just doesn’t seem fair.”

The original plan this off-season, Davis said, was to spend as much time as possible with his father, allowing his daughters time to know their grandfather before he no longer is around.

Last week changed everything.

His father was admitted to intensive care.

Davis took the first flight to Sacramento and stayed with his father until Tuesday morning. He took a flight to Phoenix to be with his kids for Halloween and then returned to Sacramento to be with his father for the duration.

“I don’t think I even saw one inning of these last two games of the World Series,” Davis said, “it’s just been so hectic. The whole family was there, and I spent a lot of nights with my dad in the hospital. There’s so much to do now, a lot of business that needs to be taken care of. I’ve got to . . . “

His voice broke off.

All of the baseball experience in the world doesn’t teach one how to prepare for death. “That’s the hardest part,” Candy said. “We all know it’s inevitable now.”

Kenneth Davis was given permission to go home Wednesday. A hospital bed was awaiting. The family has gathered by his side.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through,” Mark Davis said. “All of the pain my father is going through right now, I just wish I could take some of it away from him.”

During the season, it seemed so easy. All his father had asked was for Davis to concentrate on being the best relief pitcher in the game.

Davis did just that, posting a major league-leading 44 saves.

“That was a very hard time for Mark,” Candy said, “because he was constantly worrying about his dad. But it was like the game was an outlet for him. When he crossed that white line, he was able to concentrate on baseball and forget for a little while about the other problems.

“Now, of course, no one’s thinking about anything else.”

Davis apologized to the Padres and their fans, who are anxiously waiting for him to decide where he’ll pitch next season. But they’ll have to wait a little longer.

“I hope the people of San Diego understand,” Davis said, “but I’m really not in the mood to think about that stuff right now. I’d like to see something worked out between us and the Padres, but there are a lot of things that will enter my decision. Money definitely will not be the deciding factor.

“This is the first time, and maybe the only time, I’ll ever be a free agent. I just want to be able to explore all my options and see what’s going on.

“It’s just that right now, I don’t have time to think about it. It’s just not that important to me right now.”