By Jordan Long
The Baltimore Orioles are 5-5 to start the baseball season. They look to go above .500 tonight when they face the Oakland Athletics. There is one Baltimore star who has struggled at the plate to begin the year, Chris Davis.
Davis finished last season with a .168 batting average, the worst in his career. He was able to smack home runs and bring runners home to help Baltimore on the scoreboard. He hit 16 home runs and added 49 RBI’s. Davis drove the ball to the gap for doubles with a total of 12. He was patient at the plate with 41 walks.
The problem for Davis was he went hitless for the last 21 at-bats of the 2018 season. The Orioles were hoping his struggles at the dish were done. In Spring Training Davis wasn’t hitting the ball well but was making contact with a batting average of .189 with 3 home runs. He struck out 19 times. The Orioles weren’t worried.
The Orioles should be concerned about Davis now. In 28 at bats this season, he has yet to record a hit and set a new MLB record with a hitless streak of 47 consecutive at-bats.
According to ESPN, Orioles Manager Brandon Hyde said, “First three at-bats were really good. So I’m taking that as a positive moving forward.”
Davis is trying to smack the baseball but is coming up empty. He is swinging at any pitches close to make contact. Davis has struck out 15 times this season, far too many. The only time he has managed to reach base is on 4 walks. Davis hasn’t shown he is worth the $17 million he is being paid this year.
Davis knows this is not where he wanted to be to open up the year. There are still 152 games to go. He will have his chance to stop this streak. If Davis can get going at the plate, Baltimore might have a chance to compete in the American League East Division. Hopefully when he records his first hit, that will set the tone for the rest of the year for him. Otherwise it could be a long season for Davis.
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