Monday: Chris Davis: Dead at the Plate

Chris Davis looks like a bulldozer stuck in the mud. He just can’t seem to pull himself out. Davis enters into the series against Baltimore with a .045 batting average and just one hit in 22 at bats. Ten of those plate appearances have resulted in a strikeout. Since I don’t think I’ve actually witnessed a hard hit ball off of Davis’ bat this year, then it seems clear that he’s simply lost his stroke for the time being. Either that, or Davis, who grew up rooting for the Rangers, is simply intimidated by the fact that this is his first full Major League season. Davis did fine in Spring Training, hitting 304 in 79 trips to the plate. He looked particularly good as the spring dwindled, when he began to rediscover his power stroke. I think most of us expected to see him dash out of the gate in 09 like he did when he came up to the Rangers in June of last year. But I suppose that success in Spring Training doesn’t always translate to success in the regular season, though a positive vibe definitely helps out a player’s mindset. That’s not the case for Davis though, as he looks like a player who has never swung a bat before. That Davis will find his stroke again is inevitable. The only question is when? Since the rest of the Rangers’ lineup is so potent, then there is no reason to really worry about Davis, though the incentive behind his struggles is something definitely worth musing over.

There is always a reason for a player’s tribulations. Sometimes they have personal problems to sort out, sometimes they have physical ailments, and sometimes, as I think is the case with Davis, they try so hard to impress that they try too hard. And trying too hard almost always spells ruin. Davis wants to amaze everyone around him, and he has the perfect opportunity to do so. He only just turned 23 and he already has a starting job with a big league club. But how often do we see a player, young or old, try too hard when expectations are high for them? I can think of many cases of this occurring. To narrow it down to just the Rangers, here are two names: Gerald Laird and Marlon Byrd. In 2006 Laird played terrific baseball as Rod Barajas’ backup. Since he played so well in 06, the Rangers decided to give him the starting job in 2007, and I, like many others, expected him to put up some very nice numbers. But that was not the case, as Laird struggled for most of the season. Why? There could be several explanations, but doesn’t it seem that the intimidation factor probably played a part in Laird’s inability to hit consistently? Everyone expected him to play well, and when expectations are high, combined with a personal obligation to produce, connecting the bat solidly with the ball suddenly becomes much more difficult. Marlon Byrd is a similar story. In 2007 he was major bright spot for the Rangers when no one really thought he would be. That led to high expectations in 2008, and what did Byrd do? He became a hitter who was pressing at the plate. He seemed tense, taut, and almost incapable of hitting the ball solidly. Of course Byrd turned it around later in the season, but for those few first weeks, when we all thought he would be great, Byrd struggled, and injuries aside, I think it is clear that he too was feeling a bit intimidated. Now back to Chris Davis, who in 2008 was simply excited to be playing for the Rangers. He wasn’t expected to be a power force yet, and I think that actually relaxed him and helped enable him to hit those 17 homeruns. Now in 2009, the Rangers know he can hit Major League pitching and they expect him to hit 30+ homeruns and knock 90 or 100 runs. With these expectancies, Davis is forcing himself to produce, and that is resulting in his dire batting average. Davis will overcome the intimidation of the situation, though we can only hope it will be sooner rather than later. What he really needs is a day off. He needs some time to reflect on his circumstances and to just cool off and relax.

There could be another reason for these early trials in Chris Davis’ career, but based on the power of intimidation that runs through all of us, it seems that that is the most plausible explanation. It just shows how psychological this game really is. Now, after all of this, watch Davis come out and hit two homeruns against Baltimore tonight.