When the longest hitless streak in major league history ended and when the Baltimore Orioles wrapped up their sixth victory of the season with a 9-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox, Chris Davis channeled his inner Rocky Balboa and walked into the visitors clubhouse with his fists above his head, a smile streaking across his face. His teammates prepared a hero’s welcome too, banging the walls of their lockers, turning the scene into an impromptu “STOMP” performance. Davis looked around at the joy emanating from his teammates and felt a weight lift off his shoulders.cheap nfl nike jerseys from china
No more questions about when he’d get a hit again. No more questions for his teammates about his slump. No more bars offering free drinks contingent on Davis’ notching his first hit of the season. No more worries about a historic slump.
At 33, Davis is the oldest player on one of the youngest rosters in the league — the Orioles’ average age is 27.79 years old. There’s only so much someone can do when he finds himself in the middle of the biggest slump in major league history. Davis did everything in his control, especially the past five days. The Orioles’ youngsters all took note.
“He continued to show us how to be a professional,” 24-year-old Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins said. “Going through the struggles that he has, he kept his chin up no matter what. To witness that in person, it’ll help me maintain my composure when I go through the same thing.”
Slumps in baseball are inevitable for everyone. Davis sought advice from Orioles hitting coaches Don Long and Howie Clark. He spent extra time on the field. He took early batting practice. And beyond that, he didn’t make any radical changes and stuck to his routine. Davis didn’t do anything differently Saturday. He still took batting practice. He still tied his cleats. He still did everything he could to prepare for the game.
The old Chris Davis peeked through Saturday. His four RBIs matched his single-game high in 2018. Davis knew things would be different after stepping out of the cage during batting practice.
“I had probably the worst BP round in the history of baseball, which is a good sign if you know baseball,” Davis said with a chuckle.cheap nike nfl jerseys free shipping
The positive omens from batting practice proved true. With the bases loaded in the top of the first, Davis drove a 1-0, 93 mph fastball from Red Sox starter Rick Porcello into right field, scoring the first two Orioles runs of the day. Davis sprayed the ball all over the field Saturday, driving doubles toward both left and right field in subsequent at-bats to finish 3-for-5 and showing flashes of the Chris Davis who hit .286/.370/.634 with 53 homers, 138 RBIs and 6.5 WAR in 2013.