Chris Davis finally did it! The Baltimore Orioles’ first baseman no longer has a 0.00 batting average, snapping his record 0-for-54 at-bat streak Saturday in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox. He broke the record for hitless at-bats at 47.
His last hit was back on September 14, and as his unfortunate streak continued through the Orioles’ first 14 games this season — he played in 12 — it became the hot topic of conversation.
But that all ended when Davis hit a two-run single off Red Sox’s star Rick Porcello. Going into Saturday’s matchup — the second in the four-game series on the road against the defending World Series champions — he was 0-for-33 this season with 16 strikeouts and five walks
And with two outs and the bases loaded, Davis finally got a hit.
Davis recently spoke with ESPN about his record hitless streak, saying:
“I hear the people every night, cheering for me, encouraging me, the guys and gals that sit down closer to the field, the ones that are more consistent in attendance. I hear the encouraging people trying to pick me up, and I’ve always been very appreciative of it. Unfortunately, I feel like a few people who decide to boo, or say whatever they may say, are ruining it for a lot of people. I’ve been here long enough, I’ve played for the Orioles long enough to know what kind of fan base we have, and to know that they support their players through good and bad. And that thought has kept me in a good state of mind throughout this whole thing.”
Davis has a long way to go before getting back to his peak .286 batting average in 2013, when he was also an All-Star and third in AL MVP voting with 53 home runs and 138 RBI.
But at least now, his hitless streak is no more.
And like so many other things, his first hit in months is so much better set to Titanic music.
