Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price walked Chris Davis in the top of the first inning on Opening Day. Had Price and the rest of the pitchers in baseball known what was coming, they might have just continued issuing free passes for the next few months.
But they didn't. And Davis crushed.
The 27-year-old first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles opened the 2013 campaign by becoming the fourth player in major league history to homer in each of the first four games, joining Willie Mays, Mark McGwire and Nelson Cruz. By the All-Star break, Davis had made some more history, including tying the American League record for most home runs before the midsummer classic: 37.
Somewhere along the way he earned the nickname "Crush."
"That means I can take the second half off and coast," Davis jokingly said of his staggering early production, per Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com. "No, it is something to be proud of. It means I've been doing my job, but it also speaks volumes about the guys in front of me swinging well. It goes unsaid a lot of the time, but Manny [Machado] has about 3,000 doubles, Jonsey [Adam Jones] is swinging well. Nate [McLouth] and Nicky [Nick Markakis] always being on base is huge for me."
Not only does Davis already have career-highs in both home runs and runs batted in, he's just the second player in league history to have at least 30 homers and 90 RBI before the All-Star break (the first was Miguel Cabrera... who did it a few days before Davis).
Take a look at all 37 home runs he has crushed so far this season.
