Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is having the season of his life, belting 37 home runs prior to the All-Star game, a which is the highest total since Barry Bonds in 2001.
Davis competed in the Home Run Derby last night, reaching the second round and sending shots over the Citi Field wall with mere flicks of the wrist. Davis was once a highly touted prospect in the Texas Rangers organization, known for his power, but until last year he couldn't put it all together.
His career high before 2013 was 33 homers, set last year. That was for the entire year, though. Now, he is being dogged by steroid allegations because of the massive surge in home runs, as well as the uncharacteristic .315 batting average.
"I think there's no reason not to believe in me," Davis said. He has also gone on record saying he believes the true home run record belongs to Roger Maris, who swatted 61 home runs in 1961.
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, who went off on a similar binge two seasons ago, spoke with Yahoo! Sports about his division rival whose situation hits home.
"They're not fair questions in my eyes," Bautista said. "I said it when they were being asked to me," he said. "Just because somebody is doing well doesn't mean they're accomplishing it by cheating. He's done a terrific job handling that, and he's having a great year."
Davis has been less bothered by the accusations, appearing to realize that comes with the territory in this era of baseball. His home run chase this year has been badly overshadowed by MLB's hunt to suspend superstars Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez, former MVPs, for performance-enhancing drug use and lying about abusing steroids.
"It doesn't bother me to talk about it," he said. "It's just one of those things, you just wear it and go with it. Time will tell. That's what I have on my side right now."
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