Ex-Orioles star Chris Davis opens up on past struggles
BALTIMORE - Chris Davis is an Orioles legend, but his career also abruptly ended, taking an emotional toll on the slugger.
Davis, who was one of baseball’s best power hitters from 2012 to 2016, struggled mightily from 2017 through the end of his career in 2020. He was the target of regular criticism from fans and media, given his seven-year, $161 million deal signed in early 2016. He didn’t live up to the contract, and his on-field struggles were mentally exhausting.
“I lost so much sleep,” Davis said on a recent episode of the “To the Majors” podcast. “I wasn’t eating. My freaking hair was falling out. I was stressed out.”
He says the mental turmoil reached its peak during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Davis hit under .200 in both 2018 and 2019, hitting 28 home runs and striking out more than 300 times in the two-season span.
His game dipped as he lived in Maryland, and his family spent most of their time in his home state of Texas. He says he “internalized everything,” waiting to ask others for help navigating his situation.
“I was not good at baseball,” Davis said. “I couldn’t figure it out. Felt like I was on my own, and I was miserable, man. … I was suicidal at times. I was in a really bad spot because I couldn’t figure it out.”
He says he spent the 2019 offseason having “tough conversations” with his family and friends, which led to several changes. He stopped drinking and using tobacco products and focused on his health.
Davis felt fully prepared for the 2020 season, saying that he considered himself “the best player in baseball” during 2020 spring training. He hit three home runs in 22 spring training at-bats, hitting .400 and walking 10 times.
The 2020 regular season was cut short by the COVID pandemic, with Davis only playing 16 of Baltimore’s 60 games. He hit just .115 during the year.
Then, in 2021, he underwent hip surgery and retired a couple of months later as the Orioles began a rebuild under new general manager Mike Elias. Davis says he felt back discomfort years before the surgery, eventually learning that his hip was causing the pain.
“I think the hip surgery was more just the realization that it was over,” Davis said. “Am I going to rehab and do this and try to come back with half a season left and try to catch lightning in a bottle? For what?”
Issue with ownership
When rehabbing from his surgery - Davis didn’t retire until a few months after his surgery - he requested to be at his home in Texas. He wanted to be near family as well as the Texas doctor who completed his surgery. Two weeks after his surgery, the team contacted Davis and said the Angelos family, which owned the ballclub at the time, wanted Davis to rehab in Baltimore.
“I remember reading that and being like, ‘Man, that is so bush league,” podcast cohost Cody Allen, a former MLB relief pitcher, said.
Davis called Texas “the perfect environment” for rehabbing his injury, given the built-in support system and proximity to his surgeon. Instead, Baltimore put him up in a hotel Sunday night through Friday afternoon, and he’d fly back to Texas each weekend.
“I’m sure that was good for your hip,” podcast cohost Kevin Pillar, a former MLB outfielder, said jokingly.
“Dude, it was horrible for my hip,” Davis said. “It was horrible for my head.”
Davis laughed that when he returned to Baltimore for Adam Jones’ jersey retirement in 2023, the team put him up in the same hotel room used during his rehab.
Getting closure on Orioles’ tenure
Davis credits Orioles fans for helping him get closure during that same September celebration of Jones. As the camera panned across the faces of Jones’ former teammates on the videoboard during a pregame festivity, Davis wasn’t sure if fans would react negatively when he appeared on the screen.
“Am I going to get booed off this field?” he wondered.
Baltimore faithful erupted in cheers instead. One season-ticket holder later told Davis that they’d never forget his good times in an Orioles uniform.
“I really appreciate that guy saying that … you don’t realize how much emotional stress you carry while you’re playing,” Davis said.
The powerful slugger, who hit 253 home runs for the Orioles, will return to Camden Yards on Aug. 1 for an on-field induction into the ballclub’s Hall of Fame.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 2:42 AM.