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Baltimore Orioles: Best first basemen in Orioles last three decades

By Kristen Bentley

BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 21: Chris Davis #19 of the Baltimore Orioles tosses the ball to first base during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 21, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 21: Chris Davis #19 of the Baltimore Orioles tosses the ball to first base during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 21, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
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Baltimore Orioles
BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 17: Chris Davis #19 of the Baltimore Orioles catches the ball before Lourdes Gurriel Jr. #13 of the Toronto Blue Jays reaches first base during a baseball game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 17, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

This is an easy one, since there’s only been one. Chris Davis took over first base in 2011 when he joined the Orioles at the July trade deadline. Since then, fans have had a love-hate relationship with him.

In his nine years with the Orioles, he’s put up below-average numbers at the plate: .231/.320/.463. His best season was 2013 when he hit 53 home runs and had 138 RBI. That season cemented him Orioles lore, and he repeated the home run feat in 2015, when he knocked 47 out of the park.

Those home run records earned him a seven-year contract that the Orioles have struggled with ever since. During that 2015 home run tear, he also led the league in strikeouts with 208. That strikeout number seemed to be more prescient than the home runs, as Davis has struggled to stay out of the bottom. In fact, Davis was the worst hitter in the league in 2018 with a .168 batting average.

However, he has always done well at first base. He’s been at or above league average in range. His career fielding percentage at first has been a respectable .995. He’s not the best first baseman in the MLB, but he’s certainly not the worst.

The other players who covered first during Davis’s tenure are Mark Trumbo and Trey Mancini. Trumbo doesn’t have the range, and Mancini is more valuable elsewhere.

Davis’s contract is up at the close of the 2022 season. He will most likely retire an Oriole. Despite his up-and-down numbers, his legacy will include his generosity in the community.

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