As a newly named 2026 Orioles Hall of Fame inductee, Chris Davis could easily be protective of his place in franchise history.
He is rooting for it to be challenged.
With Pete Alonso a candidate to eventually break Davis’ Orioles single-season home run record, the former Orioles slugger made it clear he welcomes the possibility and what it represents for the future of the organization.
“I hope he does,” Davis said on Glenn Clark Radio March 25. “At some point somebody’s going to break it. Records are meant to be broken.”
Davis set the Orioles’ single-season home run record in 2013 when he hit 53 home runs, leading Major League Baseball and establishing himself as one of the premier power hitters in baseball. Davis totaled 295 home runs and played a key role in the club’s return to relevance throughout his career, helping lead the Orioles to postseason appearances in 2012, 2014 and 2016, including a division title in 2014.
While those numbers cement his place in franchise history, Davis does not define his legacy by statistics alone. For him, the value of a record is tied to what it means for the Orioles.
“If he does, that means he’s swinging the bat well and that means that the Orioles are probably winning,” Davis said.
That perspective reflects the identity Davis and his teammates built during one of the most successful stretches of Orioles baseball in recent decades. The team was not full of a roster of established stars but around players who had been overlooked elsewhere and found opportunity in Baltimore.
“We had a chip on our shoulder,” Davis said. “A lot of guys on that team were castoffs from other organizations that had been written off. It felt hand in hand with the identity of the city. It is a blue-collar city, a working-class city. We were made for that stretch of time and made for the city of Baltimore.”
After being traded to Baltimore by the Texas Rangers in 2011, Davis said he quickly came to understand what it meant to play in a city where baseball carried deep meaning and history.
“Growing up in Texas, we did not really understand what it meant to play for an organization that had so much history and tradition,” Davis said. “Getting to experience that firsthand and being part of the group that brought that winning tradition back to Baltimore was a big deal to me and my family.”
Davis added that some of the most memorable moments of his career came during that run, when the connection between the team and the city was at its strongest.
“When I think back to some of the most fun times of my career, I think back to that four-year stretch with those guys,” Davis said.
Among those moments was his grand slam during the home opener in 2013 against the Minnesota Twins, a memory he said still resonates years later.
“I still get chills when I think about rounding first base and hearing the crowd on that Opening Day,” Davis said.
That connection to the city also shaped how Davis approached the more difficult parts of his career. He said his drive extended beyond performance and into the impact he could have off the field.
“I think the biggest thing I took away was understanding and appreciating the people of the city of Baltimore,” Davis said. “I was not just there to play baseball. I was there to help impact the people around me and give back to the city.”
It is that broader view of his career that informs how he sees players like Alonso today. While Alonso’s power at the plate stands out, Davis pointed to something deeper in his evaluation.
“I think a lot of what he brings to the team is off the field,” Davis said. “Obviously he is a great player on the field, but the biggest thing he brings is just the sense of identity.”
As Alonso continues to chase history, Davis’ record remains a benchmark, but not one he feels the need to defend. Instead, he sees it as doing his part and passing the torch.
Now, as he sits in the Orioles Hall of Fame and reflects on a career defined by both achievement and impact, Davis views the record not as something to protect, but as something bigger than himself that represents team growth.
“I am grateful and honored to have held it for as long as I have,” Davis said. “But at the end of the day, records are meant to be broken.”
For more from Davis, listen to the full interview here:
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