Chris Davis – off to a record-setting and record-chasing start.
Orioles’ first baseman Chris Davis is making a lot of fantasy baseball owners – not to mention Orioles’ fans – happy. He’s off to a blazing start. After four games, including yesterday’s grand slam against BBRT’s beloved Twins, Davis is nine for 15 (.600 average), with four home runs and 16 RBI (more RBI than 25 of the thirty teams in MLB).
This is a truly record-setting pace. Only three other players have started a season going deep in the first four games – Willie Mays (1971), Mark McGwire (1998), Nelson Cruz (2011). No one has homered in the first five games of any season – so keep an eye on the Orioles/Twins today. Davis also broke the RBI record for the first four games of a season – we do count everything in baseball, don’t we? The previous record of 12 was shared by Dolph Camilli (1935), Mark McGwire (1998) and Charles Johnson (2000).
Going forward, here are a few marks Davis can swing for:
Most consecutive games with an RBI: AL, 14 games, Tris Speaker, Philadelphia, 1928; NL & MLB, 17 games, Ray Grimes, Chicago (NL), 1922
Most RBI in April: AL & MLB, 35, Juan Gonzalez, Texas, 1998
Most RBI any month: NL & MLB, 61 RBI, Sam Thompson, Philadelphia, August 1894; AL, 53 RBI, Joe DiMaggio, New York, August 1939
Most consecutive games with a home run: NL, AL & MLB, 8 games, Dale Long, Pittsburgh (NL), 1956; Don Mattingly, New York (AL), 1987; Ken Griffey, Jr., Seattle, 1993
Most HR in April: AL. NL & MLB, 14 HRs, Alex Rodriguez, New York (AL), 2007; Albert Pujols, St. Louis, 2000
Most HR any month: NL & MLB, 20 HR, Sammy Sosa, Chicago, June 1998; AL, 18 HR, Rudy York, Detroit, 1937
