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Baltimore Orioles: Four players who under-performed in 2018

By Tim Smart

BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 27: Empty stands after the baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Baltimore Orioles is canceled at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 27, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 27: Empty stands after the baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Baltimore Orioles is canceled at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 27, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Baltimore Orioles
TORONTO, ON – JULY 21: Chris Davis #19 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after being stranded on base at the end of the top of the sixth inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on July 21, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Chris Davis had one of the worst seasons ever for a major league hitter

We miss the good Chris Davis. The one from 2013 with a 1.004 OPS and a third-place MVP finish. That’s the guy Peter Angelos paid for in 2016.

But Davis has been on a steep, downward slope since he signed that contract. In the three seasons since, Davis has a sub-.300 on-base percentage with over 600 strikeouts. It’s not just that his power has disappeared; it’s that everything else that made him a good hitter has gone as well.

FanGraphs Depth Charts projections pegged Davis for an OPS just below .800, a 107 wRC+, and a 12% walk rate that matched up well with his career average.

That isn’t the expectation for a $20 million per year first baseman, but it’s better than average; it’s not negative value.

What the Orioles got from Davis in 2018 was significantly worse. He had the worst batting average in MLB history for a qualified hitter, at .168.

His 36.8% strikeout rate led the majors, and his 7.9% walk rate was easily his worst since 2012. Combine that with a .539 OPS, a 46 wRC+, and -3.1 fWAR and we can say that we witnessed one of the worst seasons by a major league hitter ever.

It’s a tough look for Davis, who for all his faults on the field is an exceptional person and a valuable part of the Baltimore community. That’s the hard part; that Davis is so likable off the field that we can’t help but keep pulling for him when he’s on it.

At this point, Davis is overpaid and unlikely to ever regain his “Crush” moniker. Fans will be clamoring for his exit as soon as possible next year, and the year after that if he makes it that far. And his contract will almost certainly go down as one of those “horrible MLB contracts” you’ll read about 10 years from now.

Don’t get me wrong, the Orioles need to find a way to get Davis off the field, and if they can get out from under that contract, it’ll be huge for the organization; they can spend that money elsewhere. But it’d be easier to hate on him if he weren’t such a positive person in the community.

Go away, bad Chris Davis. We want the old you.

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