Davis endures precipitous drop-off

BALTIMORE — Chris Davis doesn’t blame the fans at Camden Yards for showering him with boos, especially when he’s walking back to the dugout after another strikeout.

The Orioles slugger is enduring a nightmare season. Although his power numbers have improved slightly since a recently mandated layoff, Davis is batting .156 with seven homers, 24 RBIs and 99 strikeouts at the midpoint of the season.

Not exactly what the Orioles were expecting when they signed the left-handed hitting first basetion,” man to a guaranteed seven-year, $161 million contract in January 2016.

At the time of the deal, Davis averaged 42 home runs and 109 RBIs over the previous three seasons and was coming off a year in which he hit .262 with 47 homers and 117 RBIs.

Since then, his production has dipped annually. His 2017 numbers — .215, 26 and 61 — were prolific compared to this year.

Thus, the jeers from the home fans, who have grown weary of watching the struggles of the highest-paid player on the worst team in the big leagues.

“I understand their frustra- Davis said. “I know exactly what I’m capable of and what I’ve done in the past. I know that the standard is high.”

The Orioles and Davis appear destined to be together through the 2022 season, so both sides must make the best of it. That’s why Davis was given an eightgame hiatus in June to get his swing down and his head right. Up to that point, he had tried just about everything else.

“For me, it was exhausting,” Davis said. “My solution to a lot of my problems in baseball has always been to work. I felt as long as I was working, as long as I was trying, that I would figure it out.”