Chris Davis of Orioles Emerges as Elite Slugger BALTIMORE - Before the Yankees and the Orioles began a three-game series at Camden Yards last week, Chris Davis, the Orioles" starting first baseman, chatted with Robinson Cano. Davis playfully instructed Cano not to hit any home runs against the Orioles; Cano probably should have made the same request of Davis on behalf of the Yankees. As it turned out, Cano, as the second batter of the game, promptly slammed a Freddy Garcia pitch into the left-field seats. The next inning, Davis pulled a C. C. Sabathia offering over the wall in right. It was two innings of one game, but it is quite possible this back and forth could go on all season, the teams battling for first place, or at least a wild-card spot, in the American League East, while Cano and Davis, two left-handed sluggers, go tit for tat at the plate. That Davis might even be on equal footing with Cano, one of the established stars of baseball, is remarkable. Originally known for striking out as much as anything else (every 2.98 at-bats in his first five seasons), Davis did not really come into his own until last season, when he hit 33 homers, drove in 85 runs, hit a respectable .270 and helped the Orioles reach the postseason for the first time in 15 years. And this season, the 27-year-old Davis has left last year in the dust. Going into Friday's games, he led the major leagues with 19 homers and sat at or near the top of the American League with 37 extra-base hits, 141 total bases, a .754 slugging percentage and a 1.195 on-base plus slugging percentage (all first); 50 runs batted in (second); and a .353 batting average (third). Davis is doing it by walking more (he is already approaching last year's meager 37), striking out less and exhibiting a smooth stroke with immense power to all fields. Davis, said Orioles pitcher Tommy Hunter, who was acquired with Davis in a 2011 trade with the Texas Rangers, is a "very powerful individual." "Chris's contact-to-damage ratio is very good," Orioles Manager Buck Showalter said in more of an understatement, then added: "I'm not messing with Chris a lot now. I'm leaving him alone. As for Davis himself, he has a simple explanation for his big numbers this season. "Being patient and swinging at strikes," he said. I think that as a pure hitter, any time you increase your contact, there's a better chance of putting the ball out of the ballpark. Davis's coaches and teammates think that his settling in at first base has helped account for what, so far, is a stunning season. In 2012, Davis bounced among first base, right field, left field and designated hitter for the Orioles, and he even pitched two scoreless innings of a 17-inning game at Fenway Park last May, earning a victory. In previous seasons, Davis played some third base, too. Overshadowed by his full-bore hitting is that he is also playing a smooth first base, which is one reason Baltimore leads the American League in fielding percentage. In the three games against the Yankees last week, he repeatedly dug balls out of the dirt to prevent throwing errors and infield hits. In the final game, he completed a double play by stretching out almost parallel to the right-field line, his right foot somehow touching the base as he snagged the relay from second. Davis's defensive improvement derives in part from drills overseen by the Orioles" third-base coach, Bobby Dickerson. Every morning during spring training, Dickerson hit Davis balls that short-hopped him, or used a machine to do the same. During the regular season, before games, Dickerson positions Davis at first base and raps difficult grounders from third. "I'm trying to make him think like a catcher," Dickerson said. He lets the ball come to him; he receives pitches. J. J. Hardy, the Orioles" shortstop, who won a Gold Glove last year, is impressed. "He's worked extremely hard at defense," he said of Davis. He's improved a ton. But Davis's best position remains beside home plate. His coach at Longview (Tex.) High School, Joey Kalmus, still marvels at home runs Davis hit there into trees and a soccer pitch beyond right field. If Davis had some bat at-bats in a Friday night game, Kalmus said, he would drive by Saturday and see Davis and his father, Lyn Davis, in the batting cage. "He was ready to hit by the time he got to high school," Kalmus said. I can't take any credit for that. Kalmus said Davis played shortstop and pitched and competed like a madman. My biggest job with Chris was if he made an out. I'd go to him and say, "0 for 1 is not a slump." " This season, the Orioles" hitting coach, Jim Presley, keeps Davis focused on driving balls into the power alleys. In the batting cage behind the Orioles" clubhouse, Presley has hung yellow hoops in the top-left and top-right corners as visual aids for Davis to aim hitting the ball through. The work and the results are being noticed. "Now, he's using the whole field," Cano said. You can tell the way he's swinging. Davis said a defining moment in his career occurred during winter ball in the Dominican Republic after the 2010 season. His Rangers coaches had tried widening his batting stance, but as a result, Davis said, "I felt like I fouled a lot of pitches off that I should have driven." So Davis reverted to his preferred stance: feet closer together, body more upright. His next turning point could be the All-Star Game at Citi Field on July 16 or the Home Run Derby the night before - either of which would be Davis's first. Cano, who won the derby in 2011, said he would relish a new entrant. "I couldn't wait to see that," Cano said. He has monster power.