Oakland Athletics: The Connection between Khris Davis and .247

Khris Davis has been a mainstay for the Oakland Athletics for three seasons now. His consistency doesn’t just come in his presence, however, it also shows in his batting average.

Since joining the Oakland Athletics in 2016, Khris Davis has morphed himself into one of baseball’s best players. For three consecutive seasons now, Davis has gotten better each season.

In 2016, for example, Davis hit 42 HR with 102 RBI and a .831 OPS. The following season, his numbers improved slightly. His home run total jumped to 43, his RBIs 110, and his OPS .864. Finally, in 2018, his best season, Davis hit 48 HR with 123 RBI and a .871 OPS, finishing 8th in the AL MVP voting.

The most surprising thing about Davis, however, isn’t so much how he has gotten better each season, its how consistent he has been for his entire career.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

I’m not talking about the fact that he barely misses time due of injury or that he’s pretty much a lock to hit 40 HR and100 RBI each season. I’m talking about how we can just about predict, based on prior history, what his batting average will be at the end of the season: .247.

I know, there’s nothing special about a .247 AVG, especially if you haven’t evolved with the game and still use the stat to evaluate players.  In fact, in 2018, Davis’ .247 AVG placed him 104th in MLB, hardly anything to celebrate.

The fascinating thing about Davis hitting .247 is that he’s done it for the last four consecutive seasons. What’s more, glance at his career Spring Training batting average and there it is again: .247.

Many people might stop and look at the number as a sign of something more. Skeptics would write it off as a mere coincidence.

In baseball, all it means is that Davis has a recorded hit exactly 24.7% of the time for each of the last 4 seasons + Spring Training.

Either way, coincidence or consistency, it’s fascinating how something like this could happen in a sport where numbers tend to fluctuate so often.