Can Baltimore Orioles Slugger Chris Davis Keep Up His Historic Pace?

The Baltimore Orioles have to be pretty happy. Last season's 93-win season was not a fluke. They just completed a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. They are just 2.5 games out of first in the AL East and right in the thick of the wild card race.

There are many factors that play in to the team's success, one of them being the historic tear that first baseman Chris Davis is on.



In Sunday's 4-2 win over the Yankees Davis hit home run No. 31, a solo shot in the second inning to deep left that gave the team a 2-1 lead. Should he actually be able to maintain his  pace he stands to hit 59 home runs this season.

If he can pull it off he will shatter the team record of 50 set by Brady Anderson in 1996. According to Elias Sports Bureau he is the only player to ever hit 30 home runs and 25 doubles before July.

"I feel like I've been dragging lately," he joked. "I was hoping I could step it up a little in these next few months."

As fun as it has been to watch Davis hit ball after ball out of the park the question has to be asked--can he keep up the pace?

When the Texas Rangers drafted him back in 2008, but after a handful of trips in and out of the minors and way too many strikeouts the Rangers were willing to trade him and his potential away after the 2011 season..

His first season with his new team, the Orioles, was pretty successful as he set career highs in most offensive categories (including 33 home runs). With that in mind an argument can definitely be made that this season's success is not something new.

Just something that has been a longtime coming.