Keith Strudler: Learning From Failure

If you do in fact learn more from failure than success, then Chris Davis deserves a Ph.D. That’s because the Baltimore Orioles first baseman has now gone 49 consecutive appearances at the plate without a hit, which is the longest hitless streak in baseball history, breaking the previous record of 46 set in 2011. His last hit came on September 14, a double hit last season. Since then, he’s had 20 strikeouts swinging, another nine looking, and a series of groundouts, fly outs, and pretty much any other way you can not earn your way to first base.

For his services, the 33-year-old will earn $23 million this season, which is a fairly high percentage of the Orioles’ relatively meager team payroll. And lest you hope this nightmare simply goes away soon, know that in 2016 Davis signed a seven year, $161 million-dollar contract, which is the largest in Baltimore history. So on a positive note, this streak could pretty much go on forever.

Now to be fair, Chris Davis isn’t Baltimore’s only problem, since the team finished with the league’s worst record last year. And expectations aren’t particularly high this season either, especially with an overall payroll that’s a fraction of division leaders Boston and New York. But given his earnings and futility, if you want to point fingers, Davis is probably not a bad choice.

Not that long ago, Davis was a shining star for the organization, hitting 53 homeruns in 2013 and 47 in 2015. But numbers have slid consistently since then, coming of course to a grinding halt this season. So as much as I’m sure he and everyone in his family who has to read mail or go visit a supermarket without wearing a costume hopes, he seems not all that likely to return to the glory days of his 20’s anymore than West Virginia might crank up those coal mines. The current streak aside, I’d imagine Davis’ best baseball days are behind him, even if his best earning years lie straight ahead.

Clearly, Chris Davis isn’t the first athlete to go through a rough, even historically difficult stretch. For example, Deshone Kizer went 0-15 as quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in 2017. Andre Drummond once missed 23 straight NBA free throws. And golfers go through more cold streaks than Siberia. It’s almost not normal for an elite athlete to be elite all of the time, especially in a sport like baseball that requires an intense hybrid of physical precision and mental clarity.

Now, there’s not a whole lot that the Orioles can do to make this better. I suppose they can hire a sports therapist if they haven’t already. They could send Davis down to the minors to build his confidence, assuming he actually hits in the minors. They could bring in rabbis or priests or some other clergy to try and find a divine solution. Or, I suppose, they could keep working with a swing coach on helping Davis to improve his stroke, which reminds me of Tom Selleck in Mr. Baseball when he was informed that he in fact had a hole in his swing. Outside of that, I don’t have a lot of suggestions.

I’m guessing one of the key takeaways here is about the risks of long term contracts, especially to athletes in their 30’s, or the importance of not getting into a bidding war to win a player because you’re afraid someone else might. I’m sure Baltimore would be thrilled right now if this streak were some other team’s problem. Those are both important points, but not the crux of the issue.

In the end, the case of Chris Davis should be a reminder that when it comes to the rarified air of super elite athletics, the margins for error are razor thin, and there are no guarantees for tomorrow. Being a star professional baseball player isn’t like being a lawyer or a journalist, who can still get the job done on less than their best day. In pro sports, anything less than great is simply unworkable. That’s why the gap between pro athletes and really good athletes might look very small, but it might as well be the Grand Canyon. Just ask anyone who’s finished a half second behind Usain Bolt in the 100.

Hopefully, Chris Davis can close that gap before he gets to 50, or 60, or even 100 misses. Either way, I also hope now that college graduation season is upon us, someone asks him to be their commencement speaker and gives him an honorary doctorate. With all the failure he’s had and everything he’s learned, he’s earned it.

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