Baseball - Davis - LocalWiki

Baseball is available in and near Davis for those who wish to play and those who wish to watch a game. Softball is here too, but it has its own page. Many options exist for all levels of play and all ages. From local spontaneous games to the professional teams in the Bay Area, you have everything you need to enjoy this popular sport.

Pretty much all baseball teams on this page are all-male.

Baseball has a long history in Davis, and informal games were played here as early as 1857. The game was originally introduced into California as a result of the Gold Rush. Back in those days, groups of farmers played on ranches while wearing overalls, without the benefit of specialized equipment like baseball gloves. By the 1880s, baseball had surpassed horse racing in terms of popularity and became the dominant sport of the region. The home team was the Davisville Oletas who played regularly in the Y of the Southern Pacific Depot. The Oletas had a strong rivalry against the nearby Dixon Etnas. It was very common for spectators to gamble openly at games back then.

Davis was the hometown of Myril Hoag, a major league player who helped the New York Yankees win three World Series in the 1930s.

Levels of Play

Kids

For lots of Davis families, Little League is a big deal. The program is volunteer run, mostly by parents of the players. Ages 4-14 can compete in different sub-leagues. With over 40 teams, they play at the Davis Little League complex. Of course, any kid can enjoy some time at a batting cage.

DHS

DHS has a Freshman team, a JV team, and a Varsity team. Davis Legend Dan Ariola built the Varsity Baseball field and established a Winning Baseball program at Davis High. Dan is the Winningest Coach in Davis High Baseball history by a lot. Dan coached DHS Varsity Baseball from the late 90’s until 2019. He Won almost 70% of his games and finished with 474 Wins for his career. During his tenure Dan led Davis High Baseball to 8 league Championships (2nd place 9 times), and Won 3 D1 SJS titles (2000, 2004, 2014). Davis High Baseball Won 44 D1 SJS playoff games from 2000-2018 and made the playoffs every year Dan coached from 1999-2019 (except for in 2003 when the team finished 19-7, 12-4 in league). Over 100 players that Dan coached went on to play baseball at the college level, 16 professionally, and 1 so far in the MLB. From 2012 - 2018 Davis High Varsity Baseball Won at least 1 D1 playoff game each year. The only team in the D1 SJS to do so during that time. Before Dan became coach, Davis High Varsity played on a bad field that had an all dirt infield, no dugouts, and no outfield fence. The team had a losing record pretty much every year as well. Since Dan retired Davis High Baseball has struggled going Winless in 2020, 8-10 in league in 2021, and 12-17 in 2022, all under head coach Ethan Guevin. Ethan’s father Tony coached the DHS Varsity program before Dan Ariola took over in the late 90’s. The season was always well-covered in the Davis Enterprise when Dan coached, since he retired not as much.

Other info:

• Dan Ariola’s 474 Wins as the Head Varsity coach for Davis High Baseball are the most by any coach of any sport in Davis High History.

• Dan also led Davis High Girls basketball to the playoffs for 2 years in the mid 90’s before he built the Baseball program

• Dan Ariola was the Team MVP in Baseball and Basketball at Davis High in 1980

• Davis High Baseball had 5 straight losing seasons before Dan Ariola began coaching at Davis High and they have had 3 straight losing seasons since he retired

• League Champion Teams: 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013

• D1 Sac Joaquin Section Champion Teams: 2000, 2004, 2014

• The 2000 D1 SJS Championship Team finished 30-5 which is the best record in program history

• From 1999 - 2019 Davis High Baseball had a Winning record in League/Conference play each year

• From 1999 -2019 Davis High Baseball had a Winning record overall each year except for 2010 they still finished 9-6 in league made the playoffs that year

• In 2013 Davis High Baseball finished 14-1 in league and beat Elk Grove 2 out of 3 to Win League. Elk Grove had 5 future MLB players and 8 pro players total including 3 1st round draft picks on that team

• In 2014 Davis High Baseball Beat Elk Grove, who had 3 1st rd picks and 3 MLB players on that team, in the City Championship and St Mary’s in the D1 SJS Championship

• In 2016, Davis High Baseball Won the Boras North Championship and was ranked #1 in the Country by Max Preps

• Davis High Baseball made it to the D1 SJS Final 4 in 2007, 2012, and 2017

• Davis High Baseball Finished Runner up in the D1 SJS in 2018

• From 1999-2019, Elk Grove was the only team in the SJS that had more Wins than Davis

• From 1999 - 2019 Davis High Baseball was ranked top 10 in the SJS every year

College

NCAA

Yup, UCD has a Division I baseball team. Games are free if you've got a reg card and are played at Dobbins Baseball Field, near the ARC. For more detailed information, see UC Davis Baseball.

Intramural

Though there's no intramural baseball at UCD, there is intramural softball.

Professional

AAA

If the Bay Area is too far away for you, you can catch a Sacramento River Cats game right next door at Raley Field. It's just like MLB, except they're not paid as much, and they hit about four times as many fouls into the bleachers. They play home games at Raley Field, which is actually in West Sacramento (in Yolo County). Despite their AAA status, they're actually kind of a big deal for some folks. Advance tickets cost between $7 (for lawn seating) and $19 (for "Senate Box" seats), though there are all sorts of ticket packages available.

Major League

If Major League Baseball is what you crave, the Bay Area has two teams, the SF Giants and the Oakland A's. Both teams are accessible via BART, although Giants games will require more walking. A's games had "Double Play Wednesdays" during the 2005 season, where View Level tickets are $2 and hot dogs $1. Starting in 2006, the A's closed the top deck and re-branded the Wednesday promotion as "Bart Double Play Wednesdays". Hot dogs are still $1.00, and Plaza Reserved and Plaza Outfield tickets are $2.00.