Seeing the Light, Maybe

To his credit, White Sox third baseman Matt Davidson hasn’t let adversity get the best of him.  The Sox traded closer Addison Reed to the Diamondbacks for Davidson, at the time a 23-year old can’t-miss prospect.  Only Davidson didn’t make the team out of spring training 2014, after which he fell into the abyss.  By that I mean two Triple-A seasons of no better than a .203 batting average combined with a total of 355 strikeouts.  But last year Davidson put it together (.268 BA with 10 homeruns) and was called up midway through the season.  He promptly hit an RBI single in his second at-bat and just as promptly broke his foot running to first.  Maybe this is where I should mention I was ready to send Davidson back to the minors last week.

Why?  Because he did something my daughter did back in sixth grade, swinging at three consecutive pitches that weren’t in the same zip code as the strike zone.  But something switched back on after that sorry performance, and this week Davidson’s hit three homeruns for a total of 13 on the still-young season.  The best of the three Davidson hit was a grand slam after working the count full.  Like they say, it takes a village to raise a hitter.  Kudos to any and all coaches who’ve kept after Davidson levelheaded and away from the abyss. 

. Asked after Tuesday’s game against the Orioles how he’s put it together (13 homers, 34 RBIs, a .253 batting average and somewhat alarming 68 strikeouts), Davidson answered, “I know my swing now,” something he says he didn’t in previous seasons.  OK, I’ll buy that as long as he resembles 20-year old Clare Bukowski rather than the 12-year old.  That older version of my daughter could really hit.