The Orioles' Chris Davis has taken futility to new levels, going 49 consecutive at-bats without a hit.
Davis is 0-for-28 with 15 strikeouts this season after going hitless in his final 21 at-bats of the 2018 campaign.
Most consecutive ABs without a hit among position players:
• 2018-19 Chris Davis, 49 (and counting)
• 2010-11 Eugenio Velez, 46
• 2011 Craig Counsell, 45
• 1973 Dave Campbell, 45
• 1909 Bill Bergen, 45
Source: Elias Sports Bureau
Davis actually made some measure of progress in Monday's record-breaking game. The exit velocities of the fly balls he hit in his first three at-bats were 92, 91 and 104 mph. Entering the game, he had only six batted balls with exit velocities of at least 90 mph. (Mike Trout entered Monday with 12 of more than 100 mph this season.)
Davis' lineout in the fifth inning Monday had a 58 percent hit probability, but it was not to be, as A's left fielder Robbie Grossman snared it at the warning track. Davis struck out his last two at-bats to complete an 0-for-5 night.
Davis' consecutive hitless at-bats:
• 29 strikeouts (20 swinging, nine looking)
• Seven fly outs
• Six lineouts
• Six groundouts
• One reached on fielder's choice
Davis' last hit came Sept. 14, 2018, with a double off James Shields of the White Sox. From Sept. 15, 2018, through the games played April 7, 2019, 569 players had hits, none of them named Chris Davis (though Khris Davis had 20).
Some other notes about this streak, courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information:
From Sept. 15, 2018, through April 7, 2019 ...
• 75 hits have been recorded by pitchers
• Most hits in that span: Christian Yelich and Anthony Rendon (36 each)
• Most HRs and RBIs in that span: Christian Yelich (12, 35)
• Most hits without making an out: Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff (3-for-3)
• Most at-bats without a strikeout: Martin Prado (21)
Since the start of Davis' streak and entering Monday, Mike Trout had a 1.366 OPS, and Christian Yelich had a 1.517 OPS. Davis' OPS since his last hit is .125. Yelich has 23 extra-base hits in that time, and Davis has 29 strikeouts.
Money for nothing
To make matters worse, Davis has a base salary of $23 million as part of a seven-year, $161 million contract signed in January 2016. (Hey, he was coming off a 47-homer season in 2015, and he hit 53 homers in 2013.) Dividing Davis' salary by 186 days, the length of the baseball season, comes out to about $123,655 per day of the season. That means that in the 19 days of baseball since his last hit, Davis has made more than $3.5 million.
Fret not, Orioles fans. Davis' deal, which we rated as the worst in the majors before the season, has only four years and $92 million left.