If you’re trying to find the worst contract in sports, look no further than Orioles slugger Chris Davis.
Davis signed a seven-year, $161 million dollar contract in January of 2016 after he led the majors with 47 home runs. That strong 2015 came after Davis hit .196 in 2014, which probably should have been a sign for Baltimore because Davis has been objectively abysmal since 2016.
And it’s only gotten worse for the 33-year-old first baseman.
Davis hit a career-worst .168 last season in 470 at-bats. His power numbers fell off a cliff with just 16 home runs and a .539 OPS. The Orioles hoped that those historically bad numbers were rock bottom for a player they invested $161 million of guaranteed money in, but nope. Davis is somehow looking worse than ever in 2019.
How bad? He has not recorded a hit yet. He is 0 for 17 with 11 strikeouts. It got to the point where Davis was booed off the field during Thursday’s loss to the Yankees.
In a sense, you have to feel for Davis. It’s tough to watch someone struggle **that** badly, but on the other hand, Davis is getting paid a ton of money.
For a player who has only recorded two plus-5 WAR seasons in his career, the reasonable expectation was for him to hit 30 home runs and hit maybe .250 for a few years with a ton of strikeouts. Instead, he has become the worst everyday player in baseball.
It’s bad. Something is wrong. His vision is apparently excellent, but the dude hasn’t gotten a hit since September.
You can’t blame Orioles fans for being upset.
