Davis, 33, is right smack in the middle of a 7-year, $161 million contract with the Orioles, which also has a deferred “Bobby Bonilla” clause that will pay him $3.5 million between 2023-2032 and $1.4 million the next five years after that.
Not bad for a guy who started the season in a 0-for-49 slump that dated back to the final month of the 2018 regular season.
Davis earned the bloated contract from the O’s after leading the MLB in home runs in 2015 with 47.
Baltimore is five games clear of Detroit for the worst record in the majors as of today (38-76). Nonetheless the Orioles are an MLB-worst 37 games out of first place in their division. The Tigers are 35.5 behind Minnesota in the AL Central. To make matters worse, the New York Yankees hit five home runs in last night’s 14-2 drubbing. This gives the Pinstripes 49 homers against the Orioles this year.
The two teams still meet for a four-game set in the Bronx next week.
If you look at the MLB record for home runs by one team over another in one season, the Yankees own the top three spots. Two of those (2019 and 2017) are against the Orioles.
Davis is a paltry .189 this season through 84 games, having only hit nine home runs.
Cameras caught Davis having to be restrained by hitting coach Don Long and at least two other clubhouse members (one of which was Mark Trumbo) in effort to get at Oriole manager Brandon Hyde. Hyde is in his first season as Baltimore manager. You think he is enjoying having his best player come after him in the dugout during a blowout?!
It would be sensical to think there would not have been a Latrell Spreewell-type incident if Davis got free, but Hyde is likely not the kind of manager to say anything if it lit a fire under the ass of his club to get out of the cellar.
Hyde benched Davis on Tuesday and pulled him after his first at bat on Wednesday. Davis has not seen his batting average reach the Mendoza line all season (he peaked at .192 on July 21). You had to know something like this was bound to happen, but I think we are all amazed it did not come earlier in the year.
The Orioles traded Manny Machado last year during the deadline and made no qualms about this being a year to rebuild. To say the season is lost and forgettable would mean someone is actually paying attention. The only time you hear anything about the Orioles this season is them getting pounded in a game, or Davis goes into another slump.
Hyde said something that pissed Davis off, then went up the tunnel when Davis became aggressive. Speculation is Hyde said something regarding Davis missing a throw in the dirt that allowed Aaron Judge to reach safely for the Yankees. Gio Urshella crushed a two-run homer two pitches later, opening the lead for New York to 6-1. Who knows if Baltimore would have made a game of it, but the Urshela home run put the game basically out of reach in the fifth inning.
Hyde pulled Davis from the game seconds later.
In his post game press conference Hyde said he would not talk about the incident. This is about as bad with a live mic as what Davis did without one. Hyde should have brought Davis up the tunnel with a few of the coaches to explain his frustration. Davis has to know his place, but the incident was not one you entirely lay the blame at his feet.
There’s a ton of it to go around with still seven weeks left in the season.
-JC24