What’s behind the Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis’ record breaking slow start to the 2019 season.
Analyzing Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis’ zero-for-53 streak is a bit like putting a virus under a microscope. It’s neither an especially pretty nor enjoyable task, but it could yield valuable lessons.
Through Thursday, Davis was hitless in 32 official at bats this season. That’s atop the 21-at bat hitless streak he carried to the end of 2018. Davis’ only four marginally successful plate appearances in 2019 were bases on balls.
A close look at his 32 failures this season reveals a combination of factors that have undone Davis. His own mistakes have played a large role, but he has also more than once been undone by quality pitching. Too, an ill fortune in the form of a misdirected line drive has undermined him.
The best evidence of this is the two statistics Davis can actually point to with pride. He has a 93.2 mph exit velocity to date, ranking him in the 86th percentile of all players. He also has a 56.3 percent hard-hit ball rate, ranking him in the 93rd percentile.
Were Davis to finish the season at those performance levels, both would rank as the best of his career.
In its essentials, the Baltimore Orioles first baseman’s performance – or lack of same – can be sub-divided into two major groups: contact outs and non-contact outs. As it happens, they divide evenly, since Davis counts 16 Ks among his 32 outs so far in 2019. That makes it convenient to autopsy Davis’ season to date based on those two performance packets, beginning with the strikeouts.