Play ball: a new job at Edison National Bank

Andrew Davis, 25, has a life spanning two worlds. One is rooted in Rutenberg Park in South Fort Myers, where Little League players keep their eyes on dreams of stardom along with pop flies.

Andrew Davis EVAN WILLIAMS/FLORIDA WEEKLY The other is Edison National Bank in downtown, where commercial dreamers watch their college savings accounts or the bottom lines of a new business.

A customer service representative at Edison National, Mr. Davis has begun his first full-time job after graduate school. He appears effused with a bright, boyish energy and a good-natured competitive spirit from his days as a first baseman, one who went on to play in the college World Series.

Venetian blinds by his desk offer a view of First Street Mr. Davis has only become familiar with recently.

"I've never really been (downtown) before," he said. "I love it."

Born and raised in Fort Myers, most of his childhood was spent playing baseball at Rutenberg Park. His favorite player was pitcher Roger Clemens.

"For me, baseball was No. 1," he said. "We were at the field pretty much every night. That was probably the most innocent, fun time of my life. It was pretty much our life."

When he says "our," he means his family: mother, father, sister and three brothers. "It kept us out of trouble," he said. His father was a Little League coach at Rutenberg.

Mr. Davis' career as a first baseman later took off at Fort Myers High School. But dating and studying intruded on baseball's childhood innocence.

"It's not just a game anymore," he said, describing the change. "You're not only worried about baseball; you're worried about being cool, or how many friends you make because you're a baseball player."

Mr. Davis' last serious, competitive baseball game was at the college World Series in 2005, when he played for the University of Florida. They lost to the Texas Longhorns and after that, he decided to call it quits.

It was his lack of power and strength that kept him out of the Major Leagues, Mr. Davis said, even if he was a refined first baseman. "Physically, I just wasn't made to be a baseball player. I always tried to know the game better than my opponent."

When he left the sport after his junior year in 2005, he said, "I was pretty bitter with baseball."

He finished his undergraduate degree and completed an internship at Edison National Bank that summer. "They really led me back to community banking," he said. "They really care about their customers as more than just numbers."

After that, he earned a master's degree in economics at UF. His thesis paper was 87 pages of pure torture, he says, about which ethnic groups drink more orange juice in Florida.

"It's not fun, let's put it that way," he said. "The most useful thing I learned in graduate school is how to speak in front of people."

After returning home, he started at Edison National. Ultimately, he plans to become a commercial lender.

He looks back fondly on his time playing baseball in college.

"It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun," he said. "At that level, the recognition is there. You're on television. The fans want your autograph. That had never happened before."

Even as he made plans to pursue a career outside of baseball, Mr. Davis said he's always felt most at home on a baseball field. And it's a baseball field where he has returned recently. He's the new coach for The Marlins at Rutenberg Park, the same 9- to 12-yearold age group his father coached for nearly 20 years. The players are proving to be a challenge; they have a ways to go before the team is playing as well as he'd like. But Mr. Davis is convinced that the best time for baseball is Little League.

"You can just see the fun in the kids' faces," he said.

Mr. Davis was married last year and likes to spend the evenings at home. As his new job unfolds, he is introduced to the faces of other players at Edison National; community leaders who meet up at the bank in the morning for pastries and coffee. Those include people like Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann; Tom Smoot, an attorney who also wrote a book about Thomas Edison; and Leon Smith, an insurance agent who's writing a true-life tale of adventure and espionage.

"They're legends pretty much around the Fort Myers area," Mr. Davis said. "You can learn a lot from guys like that."

Baseball's best days might be, for Mr. Davis, memories of a more innocent time. But starting a new life where ballgames take their place alongside a burgeoning career and a family contains an innocence all its own.