Mini-editorial: Orioles' Chris Davis may be the worst flop in baseball history

AlwaysWrite

Addicted Member
Anyone reading this -- regardless of their age or physical condition -- could go ZERO-for-44 at the plate in baseball competition at any level. But when you're getting paid more than $17 million a season, as Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles is, you're a big-time bust and failure, to say the least.

Davis, who last season had the worst-ever batting average (.168) of any hitter with enough at-bats to qualify for a Major League batting title, ended 2018 with 21 consecutive hitless at-bats, and this season, he's 0-for-23 with 13 strikeouts. And in 2018, Davis led all of baseball in striking out, doing so 37 percent of the time.

The Baltimore franchise is saddled with what may be the worst contract ever negotiated at the big-league level. Three years ago, the Orioles gave Davis a 7-year, $161 million package, and the team will be stuck with ramifications of it for 18 more years. That's because Davis' contract not only calls for $17 million a season until 2023, the remainder of the contract is deferred. After 2023, the inept first baseman will receive $3.5 million per year until 2032, and then $1.4 million per year until 2037.

It probably won't, but it should make front offices throughout baseball think twice before offering such huge, long-term contracts. And how would you like to make $17 million a year while being a total failure at your job?
 

WAMO

Spanking His Monkey
NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM AW. AT ONE TIME, NOT THAT LONG AGO, HE WAS ONE OF THE MOST COVETED HR HITTERS IN BASEBALL. IF I REMEMBER, THERE WERE LIKE 10 TEAMS THROWING MONEY AT HIM. ALL I CAN REALLY SAY IS, HIS DECLINE DIDNT HAPPEN UNTIL HE WENT TO THE O'S. MAYBE ITS THE O'S HITTING COACH THAT GOT HIM TO THIS POINT. THAT CAN HAPPEN. BUT NOW THAT HE IS IN THIS SLUMP, THEY CANT GET RID OF HIM.
 

AlwaysWrite

Addicted Member
… and now, after going 0-for-5 last night (April 8), he established the ALL-TIME RECORD with 49 consecutive at-bats without a hit -- something that no player in baseball history has gone through. So his 2019 stat sheet shows 0-for-28, with 15 strikeouts. But he can't go anywhere but up -- even if he increases his batting average to .025.
 
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WAMO

Spanking His Monkey
IN EVERY SPORT AT ANY GIVEN TIME, SOME PLAYER GOES THRU SOMETHING NO OTHER PLAYER HAS EVER GONE THRU. WHEN HE WAS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS IN HR'S, EVERYONE SAID HE WAS UNDERPAID. BASEBALL PUSHED THE MONEY AT HIM LIKE THEY DO ALL THE PLAYERS. I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANY OF THEM SAY NO. BUT...I DO THINK THERE SHOULD BE A PAYBACK FOR LACK OF PERFOMANCE. BUT THE UNION WILL NEVER LET THAT HAPPEN. DONT BLAME DAVIS FOR PROTECTING HIS FAMILY.
 

AlwaysWrite

Addicted Member
Dear WAMO:

I'm not blaming Davis for anything. I'm just commenting on his astounding (and unprecedented) lack of job performance. And it's not just his 0-for-28 this season. Last year, he had a .168 batting average, which was THE WORST IN MAJOR-LEAGUE HISTORY among batters with enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title.
 

AlwaysWrite

Addicted Member
… and now, after failing as a pinch-hitter last night (April 10), he now has reached the half-century mark … ZERO-for-50!

[Side note: By the way, why would he be used as a pinch-hitter, when every hitter in baseball is doing better, or at least as well?]
 

AlwaysWrite

Addicted Member
The Baltimore Orioles are so inept that the three pitchers they sent to the mound last night (April 10) now have the following earned-run-averages: Dan Strally 19.29, Josh Rogers 12.27 and Mike Wright 12.79!

Even Chris Davis would likely be able to scratch a hit or two off of his own team's pitching staff .
 

AlwaysWrite

Addicted Member
And the beat (or bust) goes on … with another 0-for-3 today, meaning 0-for-53 … adding even more to a record in futility that may never be equaled.
 

Greg T.

The Jizz Slinger
Either of two thoughts come to mind. 1. The contract went to his head and knows he need not produce, or 2. He's attempting to etch his name into the history books. Stupid, stupid, stupid that head office didn't think to base his contract on performance. Leaving a path to freedom should always be one of the main concerns.
 

AlwaysWrite

Addicted Member
Well, on Saturday, Chris Davis finally broke the spell. He collected three hits against the Red Sox, but yesterday (April 14), he was back to normal with an 0-for-4 performance that included two more of his specialty -- that being strikeouts.
 

AlwaysWrite

Addicted Member
Chris Davis finally did something positive at the plate, collecting three hits against Boston last Friday and hitting his first home run of the season last Sunday. But he hasn't played since, and "illness" is cited as the cause. Orioles' fans have gotten ill watching him play in recent years.
 
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