Chris Davis' Epic Slump is Mind-Boggling, Sad

Chris Davis is in the sunken place. He’s hitless in 23 at bats this year and has struck out 13 times. Dating back to last season, he’s on an 0-for-44 stretch with 27 Ks. That’s two at bats shy of the Major League record for futility set by Eugenio Velez in 2011.

The Baltimore Orioles first baseman is coming off a 2018 in which he posted a .168 batting average, the lowest of any qualified player in Major League Baseball history. He’s in the middle of a 7-year, $161 million deal, which looks like an albatross even as the O’s seem content to field a Double-A roster on a nighty basis.

Hometown fans are understandably agitated and showered Davis with boos Sunday.

This has been going on all season. And while one understands the desire to let Davis know about the collective displeasure, this situation seems pretty far afield of the average slump.

This is historic bad. Legendary lackluster. The fact is not lost on Davis.

Baseball is a very hard game that gets harder the more a person thinks. An 0-for-44 stretch is enough to make a person overanalyze everything.

Eventually, Davis will get a hit. Whether that comes before or after surpassing the previous record is almost immaterial at this point. Does anyone think his career is salvageable? Does anyone feel confident another 0-for-Whatever stretch is lurking behind the curtain, desperate to take center stage?

It’s hard not to feel really bad for the guy. It’s not often skills deteriorate at such a pace.