OAKLAND -- From 2016-18, Khris Davis was baseball’s most prolific power hitter. That trend was continuing in ’19 until May 5, when he sustained a left hip contusion after running into a railing along the left-field line at PNC Park.
With 10 home runs through 35 games at the point of the injury, Davis never regained his form afterward. He hit only 13 homers in his final 98 games of the season. Entering 2020, the struggles continued for Davis. He went 1-for-21 through his first six games and lost his status as an everyday player. But Davis appears to be experiencing a resurgence.
Davis, who led the Majors with 133 homers from 2016-18, went 4-for-6 with a home run and four RBIs over his past two contests entering Friday. On Thursday against the Rangers, he had his second consecutive two-hit performance. The recent success came following an adjustment at the plate. The slugger moved his hands farther back and slightly higher in his stance.
“It’s just been helping me be more accurate to the ball. I’m finding less swings-and-misses and a little better contact,” Davis said. “Just having them farther back, there’s less room to go. They’re already ready to fire. It’s been working.”
The adjustment came on the advice of hitting coaches Darren Bush and Eric Martins, whom Davis approached for help. Together, they discovered that his setup changed, dating back to that night of his injury in Pittsburgh.
“We’ve just been working nonstop trying to figure out what is going to work,” Davis said. “I think when I got hurt, I started getting set up in a different way. My body just wasn’t adjusting to that injury. When I put my hands further back, it just kind of freed thing up.”
The level of comfort with the new stance has come rather quickly for Davis. Another good sign that he’s feeling good at the plate: He has not struck out in either of his past two games.
“It felt pretty comfortable right away,” Davis said. “Usually when you have to make an adjustment and feel it quick, you just run with it and don’t look back. It’s brought some comfort within the box, so I’m going to keep working with it.”
A’s support bench coach
Following a win over Texas on Thursday, A’s bench coach Ryan Christenson was seen greeting players in the celebratory handshake line with a gesture that looked like a Nazi salute. Christenson said the gesture was unintentional and a mistake. The A’s put out this statement, which included an apology from Christenson, on Thursday night:
“Ryan Christenson is fully supported by everybody in our clubhouse,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “They know who he is. So do I. Obviously, it didn’t look great. But that was not his intent at all. I know that for a fact.”