Chasing Roger Maris: Chris Davis ties an AL record, but remains behind Maris

Davis ties an arbitrary record, but through 95 games played, sits right behind the real record holder.

Jul 15, 2013, 2:34 PM UTC

USA TODAY Sports

We might not update the progress of Chris Davis every week for the rest of the season, but, so long as he's within striking distance of Roger Maris and the longstanding single-season home run record for the American League, it's something that we just have to keep an eye on. In short, how much we -- meaning both us and you, our dear reader -- cares is entirely on Chris Davis and his performance.

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At the start of the All-Star break is as good of a time as any to check in on him. Davis just tied Reggie Jackson’s record for the most homers before the break with home run #37 of the season on Sunday. It took four more games than Jackson to do so, so, as with a lot of these kinds of records that involve non-set time frames, a grain of salty is necessary. More important than tying the above record, though, is that Davis is just one homer behind Maris after 95 games played.

Maris had 38 homers after his first 95 contests back in 1961, and Davis' last blast of the unofficial first half put him just one back of that. Maris, to this point, had played in all 95 of the Yankees' games that year, while Davis has taken one day off. Because of that, the idea of Davis being one behind of Maris is actually a little off: over the course of 161 games, Davis is still on pace to break Maris' record, and to do so by two long balls. He'll need to avoid missing anymore time to keep that pace, of course, and that's no guarantee for any player, but that's where the math stands as of today.

Over his last 162 games, Davis has hit .298/.373/.648 with 56 homers. His changes in swing and approach didn’t come until a little later on in the year, though: since August 18 of last year, a 131-game stretch, he’s on a 64-homer pace over 162 games.