In settling into mundane routine, Chris Davis' offense become spectacular

This just in: Chris Davis is not slowing down. He was named the American League Player of the Month for April when he batted .348 with a slugging percentage of .728 and OPS of 1.171. He topped those numbers in May going .364/.768/1.210. Miguel Cabrera won the May monthly award after his amazing month, so Davis settled for winning the latest AL Player of the Week award yesterday, his second this season. In 56 games ,he is batting .357 with 20 homers, 52 RBIs and a 1.194 OPS. He is on a pace to hit 57 homers and drive in 148 runs. What is the secret to his success? Davis said there is not one and that it may be as simple as staying with a routine. Could it be that by developing a daily, consistent routine, Davis' offense has become anything but that? Every day before the game, Davis goes into an indoor batting cage and hits a baseball off a tee. There is nothing real challenging about that and it seems like a pretty insignificant thing to do. "It's just what I do off the tee," Davis explained. "I do the same thing every day. I don't put that much weight in that. It's more about the consistency of the routine than anything else. Just doing the same things every day has been huge for me, just to keep my consistency. "It's just doing the same thing over and over every day. Reinforcing good habits. I think it's more a peace of mind thing. You know you are covering all your bases," he said. Wait, so this is the big secret to his success this year? "There is no secret," Davis explained. "Everybody wants to know what is the secret, what is the difference? You know, I put up pretty big numbers in the minor leagues. Obviously, this is not the minor leagues, but when you see those numbers, you know the ability is there. It was a matter of consistency up here." Davis told me even though he is being counted on to be a key contributor to the Orioles offense this season, he actually felt more pressure to perform during the 2012 season. "I was talking to my wife about what last year meant for me to play a full season," he said. "I felt it was more stressful for me then because I knew it might be my last shot to prove I can be an everyday player. So when I did struggle, it was like, 'Man, I need to get out of this now.' But now I can just play the game and have fun and really let my talent take over. I haven't been thinking about what ifs, just really enjoying it. "The biggest thing between here and Texas was I never really got the chance to play a full season." He's not eating Fruit Loops as Mickey Tettleton once did years ago, but in coming up with a steady yet not very exciting daily routine, Davis' at-bats have now become very exciting. More on Davis: * Over his last 12 games, Davis is batting .511 (23-for-45) with four doubles, seven homers and 11 RBIs. * Over his last 23 games, he is batting .416 (37-for-89) with 10 doubles, 11 homers and 22 RBIs. * Davis is the first player in the majors this year to reach 20 homers. * Davis has hit four homers over his last six games, seven in the last 12, nine in the last 16 and 11 in his last 23 games.



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