Revered coach will be celebrated on Sunday





A BASEBALL LIFE—Mark Davis, a former Agoura resident, coached local baseball players for more than 25 years. Davis died of an apparent heart attack on Jan. 18. He was 51.

A BASEBALL LIFE—Mark Davis, a former Agoura resident, coached local baseball players for more than 25 years. Davis died of an apparent heart attack on Jan. 18. He was 51.

Mark Davis, a beloved baseball coach in the Conejo Valley, will be honored during a ceremony on Sunday.

Davis died from an apparent heart attack on Jan. 18 at the age of 51. His family and friends have organized the Celebration of Life of Mark Davis, which will be at 10 a.m. Sun., April 27 at the Westlake First Neighborhood Community Center, 31830 Village Center Drive in Westlake.

Davis was one of the sharpest pitching instructors in the area, and he coached many of the area’s best players from the past quarter century, including Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels, Christian Yelich of the Miami Marlins and Delmon Young of the Baltimore Orioles.

“Mark was a fun guy,” Newbury Park High baseball head coach Matt Goldfield said. “Every time we got together we’d have a laugh. He was just a good guy. He was the first guy out here with pitching lessons that really got into the dirt to work with kids.”

“He’s had a hand in coaching a lot of older kids in our program,” Thousand Oaks High baseball head coach Ryan Geisler said. “He’s been a positive influence on young men throughout the years, not just as baseball’s concerned, but with life in general.

“He was a big part of the baseball community for years in the Conejo Valley.”

Davis’ son, Ryan, is a bat boy for the Lancers.

Mark Davis graduated from El Camino Real High in 1980. He pitched at College of the Canyons and Sacramento State before the New York Mets drafted him in 1984.

A crafty right-handed relief pitcher, Davis broke the New York-Penn League saves record with 22 in 1984. He pitched the next year with the Savannah Cardinals, going 8-6 with a 3.98 ERA and 10 saves, before getting released.

Davis started giving private pitching lessons in the late 1980s. He moved from the San Fernando Valley to Agoura before settling in Thousand Oaks in 1990.

One of his first clients was Randy Wolf, a fellow El Camino Real graduate who pitched 14 seasons in the big leagues. Davis also coached former pros Jeff Weaver and Jack Wilson. Other players he’s coached include Andrew Lambo, Jimmie Sherfy and Jack Marder of Newbury Park; Jett Bandy, Jeff Johnson and Chad Smith of Thousand Oaks; Cody Buckel of Royal; and Zack Thornton of Oak Park.

“Mark’s influence in the baseball community transcended league boundaries and school allegiances,” friend Steve Henson said.

Davis was an assistant coach on the Thousand Oaks Little League U-13 squad that won the 1994 World Series.

“Whenever you got a pitcher that Mark worked with, you didn’t have to tinker with them at all,” Goldfield said. “They were so skilled with perfect mechanics.”

Mark Davis is survived by his wife Chrissy, and his children Ryan and Alexandria.


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