Baumbach: Ike is justifying Mets' draft strategy of picking college players

When Ike Davis connected on his 11th-inning walk-off home run last night, it was almost as if everyone at Citi Field knew instantly from the loud crack of the bat that this ball was long gone.

The moment sounded like a firecracker going off, and then the next thing you knew, this laser of a home run was landing in the second deck in right-centerfield, a pretty good blast in this spacious ballpark.

Game over. Mets win again.

Watching the 23-year-old Davis excitedly run around the bases, it was so easy to wonder where the Mets would be without him. They were 4-8 when they called him up April 19, and now he's their undisputed cleanup hitter, a slugger who can win a game with one monstrous swing.

"He's got some electricity in his hands, man, I'll tell you," manager Jerry Manuel said. "When his bat flies through there, it actually really flies through there - with length. You're talking about a special young hitter."

No one is suggesting that Davis has turned this Mets season around by himself, not by any stretch. But his combination of youth, power and potential has helped invigorate a lineup that has been lacking a game-changing cleanup hitter since Carlos Delgado's last good season in 2008.

It was only two years and four days ago when the Mets selected Davis with the 18th overall pick in the 2008 draft. That Davis has made it to the big leagues this quickly - and clearly isn't going back down anytime soon - shows the upside of focusing on college players in the draft.

And looking at the list of players the Mets chose in this year's draft, it's easy to see they are believers in that draft strategy. They have used 28 of their 30 picks in the past two days on college players, meaning they repeatedly selected the guy they think could be helping them in the majors as soon as possible.

Seeing what Davis has done this season, it's hard to argue against that philosophy.

"When you have that type of poise that he has, you live for those moments," Manuel said of Davis' walk-off home run. "You have your best at-bats in those moments. He's a very special hitter."

Minutes after Davis hit what he referred to as "my first true walk-off," the rookie laughed when asked to think back to draft day two years ago. In a way, to him that day seems like so long ago.

"After my first year of pro ball, I was like, 'I'm going to be here for the long haul. You know, I'm going to have to really work my way up,' " Davis said. "But it was quicker than I thought."

The Mets had some trepidation when they called him up in April, not wanting to do anything to harm their future asset, but there's no concern in the organization anymore.

Davis recently snapped a 3-for-29 stretch with a 4-for-4 game Saturday, then went hitless in nine at-bats before his walk-off shot. Even though he's been yo-yoing, he said he didn't feel any additional pressure in the 11th inning. He looked calm at the plate, then made it all look so easy. And maybe it was.

Of the 1-and-1 pitch from Padres reliever Edward Mujica, Davis said, "I saw it pretty early and happened to hit it on the sweet spot."

In the clubhouse afterward, Davis was most pleased that his teammates used whipped cream for the pie instead of shaving cream, which burns your eyes. Then, as he was walking away, he asked innocently, "Did anyone see where the ball landed?"

For a team whose confidence is only growing, the young cleanup hitter is fitting in perfectly.