Christopher Lyn Davis (born March 17, 1986), nicknamed "Crush Davis", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. While primarily a first baseman throughout his career, Davis also spent time at designated hitter, third baseman, and outfielder.
Davis attended Navarro Junior College and was selected by the Rangers in the fifth round of the 2006 MLB draft. He ascended quickly through the Rangers' minor league system, getting named their Minor League Player of the Year in 2007. He was called up in the middle of 2008 and had a strong start to his major league career. He was the Rangers' starting first baseman for 92 games in 2009 and hit 21 home runs, but a low batting average and his tendency to strike out left the Rangers dissatisfied with him. Because of this, the Rangers sent Davis back and forth between the minors and the majors over the next two years and left him off their playoff roster in 2010. On July 30, 2011, they traded him to the Orioles.
Davis appeared in 31 games for the Orioles in 2011. In the lineup full-time in 2012, he hit 33 home runs while batting .270 and helping the Orioles reach the playoffs for the first time since 1997. In 2013, his 53 home runs led all MLB players and set a new Orioles single-season franchise record. Davis also had 138 runs batted in (RBI), was selected to the All-Star Game, and finished third in American League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) voting. In September 2014, Davis was suspended for 25 games for testing positive for amphetamine; he asserted that he tested positive due to the use of Adderall, for which he previously had a "therapeutic use exemption". Davis missed the Orioles' seven postseason games in 2014 due to his suspension.
The Orioles signed Davis to a seven-year, $161 million contract in January 2016. In 2018, he set the MLB record for the lowest batting average ever for a qualified player, batting .168. In 2019, Davis set the MLB record for the most consecutive at bats by a position player without a hit, going 0-for-54. Davis announced his retirement on August 12, 2021. In March 2026, Davis was elected to the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 induction class.
Davis was born in Longview, Texas. He has an older sister, Jennifer. While he was in high school, his parents divorced. Davis attended Longview High School, playing shortstop on the school's varsity baseball team and pitching as well before graduating in 2004. He was originally chosen by the New York Yankees as the third-to-last pick of the 2004 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft (1,496th overall in the 50th round). However, he did not sign and opted to attend Navarro Junior College in Texas instead, beginning in 2005.
At Navarro, he was used as a third baseman and first baseman. He was once again drafted, by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in the 2005 MLB draft, however he did not sign. He was named a preseason JUCO All-American by Baseball America in 2006, earning Region XIV East Zone Most Valuable Player honors. That year with Navarro, he hit 17 home runs, one of which hit a retail building 100 feet away beyond the 380 sign on the outfield fence. Davis was then drafted again, this time by the Texas Rangers in the fifth round of the 2006 MLB draft. Davis was inducted to the Navarro College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021.
Davis began his minor league career in 2006 with the Spokane Indians of the Single-A short season Northwest League, splitting time between the outfield and first base. In 69 games, he batted .277 with 70 hits, 18 doubles, 15 home runs, 42 runs batted in (RBI), and 65 strikeouts (eighth). Early in his minor league career, Davis struggled with his weight. At one point, he weighed 265 pounds, but he later learned to eat healthier and lost weight.
In 2007, Davis began the season with the Bakersfield Blaze of the Single-A advanced California League. He tied a California League record by posting a 35-game hitting streak and was selected to the Single-A advanced All-Star Game. On July 30, he was promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League, where he spent the rest of the season. Despite his call-up, he tied for fourth in the California League with 24 home runs and ranked fourth in the league with a .573 slugging percentage, leading Bakersfield in home runs, RBI, and doubles. With Frisco, he had 11 home runs and 25 RBI in the month of August and was named the Rangers' Minor League Player of the Month. In 129 games combined, used exclusively as a third baseman, Davis batted .297 with 36 home runs and 118 RBI in 2007. After the season, he was named the Rangers' Tom Grieve Minor League Player of the Year.
Entering 2008, Baseball America ranked Davis the number two prospect in the Rangers' organization, behind Elvis Andrus. Davis began the season playing first base for Frisco. He batted .333 with 62 hits, 13 home runs, and 42 RBI in 46 games before earning a promotion to the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks of the Pacific Coast League. In 31 games with Oklahoma, he hit .333 with 37 hits, 10 home runs, and 31 RBI. He was named to the All-Star Futures Game but was unable to play in it because he was promoted to the major leagues by the Texas Rangers. Later, during his breakout 2013 season, Davis referred to his time with Round Rock in 2008: "I know nobody really cares about Triple-A, but I put up these numbers up in Triple-A. That was kind of the question, 'Was he going to be able to do it at the big league level?' The thing about it was, I just couldn't do it consistently. I couldn't put the bat on the ball. I was striking out an astronomical amount, and this year it's just been consistency day in and day out."
On June 26, 2008, the Rangers called up Davis from Oklahoma, and that day he made his major league debut in a 7–2 loss to the Houston Astros, getting a hit in his first Major League at bat, against Óscar Villarreal. Davis started his first Major League game at first base on June 27, 2008, and hit his first Major League home run during the game, against Clay Condrey in an 8–7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. He also homered the next day, becoming the first Texas Ranger to homer in both of his first two Major League starts. He took over from Frank Catalanotto at first base.
By virtue of his hot start with the Rangers, and his considerable power as a batter, Davis was dubbed "Crush Davis" by local media and fans (a play on "Crash Davis" from the movie Bull Durham). From July 22 through July 26, he had four straight multi-hit games. Davis played well enough that, upon Hank Blalock's return from the disabled list (DL) on August 22, he was moved to third base so he could remain in the lineup. He had four hits on September 26 in a 12–1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
In 80 games (295 at bats), Davis batted .285 with 84 hits, 23 doubles, 17 home runs, and 55 RBI. He struck out 88 times, which was 30% of his at bats. Defensively, he was much better at first base than third, with a .997 fielding percentage at first as opposed to a .962 percentage at third and a higher range factor as well.
Davis slumped a bit in 2009 spring training but still began 2009 as the Rangers' first baseman. Rangers manager Ron Washington said, "I'm not worried about Chris. Chris works hard. He had a little spell where he was trying to get himself together. He's going to have bad times, but what he did tonight is what he's capable of and he'll do that enough to make you love him." On May 14, with the Rangers trailing 2–1 in the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners, he homered against Brandon Morrow to give the Rangers a 3–2 victory. After a 1-for-29 slump, Davis hit two home runs on May 26 in a 7–3 victory over the New York Yankees. He had four hits on June 25, the fourth a 12th-inning two-run home run against Esmerling Vásquez in a 9–8 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.