Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis crushing the ball in Spring Training

Spring Training stats may not mean much, but for the Baltimore Orioles and Chris Davis, they are a sign of hope for the coming season.

The past two seasons have been a complete disaster for Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis. His bat has been completely dormant, leading to a horrific .172/.256/.308 batting line, with just 28 homers, in his last 874 plate appearances. Davis has struck out 331 times in that span while enduring a 0-54 streak that was the longest hitless streak in major league history.

Yet, through it all, Davis has continued to stand by his locker, answering all the questions sent his way. Even when his frustrations reached a boiling point, such as when he and Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde nearly came to blows in the dugout, Davis continued to attempt to show professionalism. He apologized to Hyde the next day, taking the blame for the altercation.

Those struggles, as well as his refusal to hide from scrutiny, have made Davis a sympathetic figure. Orioles fans, and baseball fans in general, want to see a resurgence from Davis. Even if he does not return to the form that made him one of the more feared sluggers in the game, watching him become a productive player once again would be one of the great stories of the upcoming season.

So far, Davis is giving the Orioles and their fans a reason for hope. He has been crushing the ball thus far in Spring Training, hitting his third homer in Grapefruit League action. So far, he has five hits in seven at bats, including those three homers. More importantly, Davis has walked four times and has just one strikeout. Even the other out he made was a well struck ball, as he lined out to the warning track.

In reality, these numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt. Pitchers are still working on location and experimenting with new pitches at this stage of spring training action. While the narrative is that pitching is ahead of hitting, especially during these early days, that is not always the case.

Of course, Davis’ success thus far is not a harbinger of what he will do during the regular season. Pitchers will find be getting themselves into regular season form once they get closer to Opening Day. However, for a player that has been in desperate need of anything positive over the past two seasons, Davis is off to a tremendous start.

Maybe Chris Davis is not done just yet. If his Spring Training performance thus far is any indication, the Baltimore Orioles have reason to hope that their first baseman can be at least somewhat productive.