Davis puts 'exclamation point' on season
In what could be his final game with O's, slugger hits two home runs
BALTIMORE -- Chris Davis, honored Sunday afternoon as the Most Valuable Oriole for the 2015 season, put a memorable end to what could be his final game with the O's.
Davis, who entered Sunday leading the Majors in home runs, hit two more to push the number to 47 and received several standing ovations in the Orioles' 9-4 win to complete a sweep over the Yankees at Camden Yards.
"That's a little too apropos, the last one. As it left the ballpark, I just went, 'Really?'" Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "To put an exclamation point on the quality of contributions he's had. It's been fun to have a great seat to watch him. He's been very good for our city. He's really established himself here in Baltimore. I felt very honored to be part of that. It's never goodbye, it's see you later. That's the way I always approach the end of the year."
Still Davis, who ended the year with 117 RBIs and will be one of the most sought-after hitters on the free-agent market, acknowledged it wasn't just any regular end of the season.
"Driving in today [it hit me]," Davis said. "I said, 'Man, this might be the last time I'm making this drive.' Just times throughout the day, I wasn't trying to dwell on it. When I was walking down the tunnel, that hit me hard. I actually asked Matt [Wieters] before the game started, I said, 'Is it starting to get to you a little bit? [He said], 'Yeah.' When I was walking down the tunnel, I thought it might be the last time I do this. Hopefully, it's not."
Video: NYY@BAL: Davis drills a two-run shot to pad the lead
Davis' first blast, a two-run shot in the fifth inning which came off Bryan Mitchell, put the O's up 7-1. He also doubled in the first and walked in the sixth before taking his final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth. Yankees manager Joe Girardi made a pitching change, subbing Caleb Cotham for Andrew Miller, and Davis blasted an 0-1 pitch out to right field to send the crowd to its feet.
While the O's faithful were denied a curtain call, they gave Davis another ovation as he jogged out to first base in the top of the ninth inning and chanted "Re-sign Davis" during his postgame interview by the first-base dugout. The farewell was a fitting end to an outstanding second half for the slugger, who has amassed 161 homers -- good enough for 10th on the club's all-time list -- in four-plus seasons.
Pending free agent Wieters joked of Davis stealing the limelight.
"He's been doing it for the last three years, so I kind of expected him to hit a home run there. Wherever he signs, he better remember who got him all those pitches when he was here to hit."
Perhaps it will be with Baltimore, with current players Adam Jones and Manny Machado already speaking out about the need to keep Davis in black and orange.
"It means a lot," Davis said of the public support. "I've said before, this is a great group in here. I feel like we're all brothers in here, and we're all looking out for each other. We keep in touch in the offseason, and I really appreciate them stepping out to express how much they want me back. I can't say enough about them."