The Davis Effect: How Good Is "Crush?"

Chris Davis homered again last night, bringing his home run total to 39. He is taking the league by storm, and does not seem to be letting up. Davis also has 100 RBI, and it's August 2nd! He could be one of the best players in major league baseball, not just this season, but overall.

Davis' statistics are mind-boggling as well. Not only does he lead major league baseball in homers and RBI, he has many other stats that need some comprehension to realize how good he is. Every 10.1 ABs, Davis will homer. This means that if Davis gets four at bats a game, he'll homer once every three games. 8.7% of Davis' plate apperances are home runs. If you compare that stat to Barry Bonds' record-breaking season, he's only 2.3% behind Bonds, where 11% of Bonds' PAs were homers. Also, 24.1% of Davis' flyballs are home runs, meaning that nearly one of every four flys Davis hits is gone. That really shows how much power Davis has. At this pace, Davis will hit 58 homers, and drive in 149 RBI. Clearly those are some MVP caliber numbers.

How much has "Crush" Davis helped the Orioles? Last season, the Orioles averaged 4.39 runs per game and 1.32 home runs per game. Now, with Davis' monster season, the O's score 4.67 runs per game, and 1.31 homers per game. Although the homers stayed about the same, the O's average .28 more runs a game. That's a huge jump, especially over the course of a 162 game season. If the O's continued to play .28 runs better this season, that translates into 45.36 more runs. If, on average, you need 5 runs to win a ball game, the Orioles would get 9 more wins this season than last season. That could really make a difference, even in a tough AL East.

I know Chris Davis isn't the whole reason the Orioles are on pace to do better this season then last season, you have to admit that he's a big part of their success. Having 100 RBI on August 1st will win you an MVP, and make you one of the most respected players in the game. The 39 homers help, too, but being a run producer will help your team win ballgames. That's why I'd assume every team would want Chris Davis as their first baseman.