Chris Davis remembers the trade deadline deal that brought him to the Orioles

Chris Davis celebrated an anniversary yesterday. It was two years ago, on July 30, 2011, that Davis and Tommy Hunter were acquired by the Orioles from Texas for pitcher Koji Uehara. Looks like the deal Andy MacPhail pulled off is working out. Now, 73 homers later, Davis is fitting in well with the Orioles and that day has turned out to be pretty important to him. "It was obviously a turning point for me in my career," Davis said. "A chance to kind of start over and come to another organization and be the player everybody hoped I would be. I think the biggest concern for me being traded over here was whether I'd be part of a winning team. Since I've been here - not solely because I'm here - we've done a lot of winning." In remembering that day, Davis had spent some time earlier that season with the Rangers, had gone back to Triple-A Round Rock, but had just been called back from the minors by the Rangers for about a week when he found out he was Baltimore-bound. "I had just been called up and was in Toronto to showcase my talents for all the teams they were possibly going to trade me to. I was just excited to get a chance to play every day and kind of start over and wipe the slate clean. I was excited and holding Tommy in my arms as he cried," he said jokingly. Sometimes a fresh start in a new city is great for a player. It has turned out to be for Davis with the Orioles. He hit 33 homers last year and hit No. 38 last night. So what has the time around the trade deadline been like in the O's clubhouse? "I think it's always exciting, knowing that if your team is in contention they may get someone for that final push," he said. "It can be confusing, too, for guys that are not sure if their future lies with their team. For us the last few years, it's been exciting, knowing we could make the playoffs and knowing our team is active and aggressive in the trade market." Taking a look back: Back on that day in July 2011, I expressed the opinion that the O's made what looked to be a very good trade. Read that here. I also interviewed former O's executive Jim Duquette on the day of that trade and he felt the O's made a great deal. Read that here. What will today hold?: With the trade deadline approaching at 4 p.m., what are your thoughts? Will the O's make a deal today? If so, do they need a pitcher or hitter more? Do the O's need to make a move to match Boston's acquisition of Jake Peavy?