The Orioles racked up 15 hits in Monday’s 12-4 win over the Oakland Athletics, which also broke a four-game losing skid.
Sadly, a different streak continued, as none of those 15 hits came off the bat of Chris Davis.
Davis, of course, entered the game on an 0-for-44 streak dating back to last season. The all-time leader in at-bats (by a non-pitcher) without a hit was Eugenio Velez, who went 0-for-46 over the 2010-11 seasons. Davis needed a hit in one of his first three at-bats to avoid making history.
Oakland starter Marco Estrada seemed like just the guy against whom to avoid history for Davis. While he was only 6-for-36 lifetime against the former Blue Jay, those at-bats came, for the most part, as the old Chris Davis, not as this new, shell of a former slugger.
This Chris Davis can’t get around on anything over say, 94. Estrada rarely tops 90. It seemed like the best matchup Davis could’ve hoped for.
In his first AB, Davis laced a 92.4 MPH line drive to right (his sixth-hardest hit ball of the year, per Joe Trezza). It was, of course, directly at the right fielder.
In his second AB, and now 0-for-45, Davis hit what looked to be the streak-breaker. A soft line drive to left field, that surely looked to be ready to die in front of the left fielder. There’s only one guy on that entire side of the field…this has to fall!
Nope. It hung up, and the left fielder grabbed it fairly easily.
0-for-46. History tied.
With the chance to break the record, Davis faced Oakland reliever Yusmeiro Petit, another soft-tosser. Chris got an 89 MPH change-up, and whacked it. The ball left his lumber at 103.5 MPH with an 18-degree launch angle (again per Trezza), the type of ball that Statcast says has an expected batting average of .580.
So there was a 58-percent chance this ball was going to fall, and at least save Davis from owning the World’s Worst Slump record all by himself.
Nope. Again, the left fielder was there.
0-for-47.
Congratulations, Chris Davis. You’re the worst!
It was a cruel thing to watch, honestly. Davis looked like a hitter, at least for those three at-bats, who had a clue, who could still hang at the MLB level. Yet, with history on the line, Lady Luck did nothing but sneer at him. For their part, the small (like, smallest ever when fans were actually allowed in) crowd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards supported Davis, cheering him and encouraging him, rather than booing and jeering as the crowds over the weekend did.
Davis got another AB in the 8th, after his teammates batted around in front of him. Facing Fernando Rodney, Davis, for the first time all night, looked like the guy we’ve seen for the past two-plus seasons. He watched two balls go right down the middle, then swung at a change-up in the dirt for strike three.
Oddly enough, in his last nine AB before breaking the record, Davis *only* struck out twice.
Here’s a look at Chris Davis’ MLB record 47 straight hitless at-bats. Of note, 47 at-bats make for a long list:
ꓘ
K
GO
K
K
FO
GO
K
GO
K
K
FO
K
ꓘ
K
K
LO
K
K
ꓘ
LO
K
K
ꓘ
FO
GO
FO
GO
K
ꓘ
ꓘ
K
FO
K
LO
K
ꓘ
K
FC
GO
FO
FO
ꓘ
K
LO
LO
LO— Nathan Ruiz (@NathanSRuiz) April 9, 2019
Any of those seven could have been the duck fart that saved Chris from dubious history. Alas, not one baseball found green grass off his bat.
At this point, we just sit back and wonder how long the streak will continue.
In case you’re wondering, the record for all plate appearances by a non-pitcher without a hit is 57. Davis is at 56. So…something to watch tonight, as well.
There are a ton of positives to talk about with this team right now. The defense is a joy to watch. The speed on the bases is something we’ve not seen in years, if ever (THREE triples last night!). Trey Mancini is straight up raking. The Birds are .500 after 10 games, and after the schedule-makers put the Yankees on there six times in those first ten, not many fans or observers would have predicted that.
Yet the headlines on MLB.com, ESPN.com, and other national sites (and, apparently, here on ESR – sorry, will fix!) will all just be about Chris Davis, not about the plucky Orioles defying expectations.
Here’s to this streak ending quickly, now that the history books have been rewritten.
