There are few if any hitters in all of Major League Baseball who are hotter than Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles in the batter's box this season, but that's especially true in the home run department and that's exactly what he needs to win the 2013 Home Run Derby.
Davis comes into the contest on long ball fire having hit four homers in his last four games and currently sits atop the home run mountain in the MLB at the moment with 37 homers, which not to mention is right on pace to tie or break Roger Maris' 61-homer mark back in 1961.
It's true that Davis' average has dipped from a once surreal .357 to a now more realistic .319 in a little over a month, but the one thing that has yet to slow down for the Orioles first baseman is his home run totals.
Davis has tallied nine, 10 and 12 homers in the months of April, May and June, respectively, and his six homers this month puts him just about on pace to either match or even surpass his previous monthly totals.
As far as his average is concerned, it doesn't mean squat in this instance. Davis will be facing batting practice pitches in the derby and won't have to deal with pitchers being afraid of him and possibly pitching around him more as a result.
That reason, I contend, is exactly why Davis' average has dipped since June 6. But again, he doesn't have to get base knocks on Monday night, he just has to do what he's done better than any other player in baseball this season and that's putting the ball in the seats.
Being that it's at Citi Field this season, hitters will have a tougher time sending the balls into the stands as the New York Mets home park is widely considered a pitcher's park. That means the guys with the most power have the best chance of launching long balls and Davis certainly qualifies as such.
With all things being equal and some of the best home run hitters in the game taking part in the 2013 Home Run Derby, Davis is the hottest home run hitter of them all and that's exactly why he's the best bet to take home the honors this year.
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