BALTIMORE --- If this was the end for Chris Davis’ Orioles career, it was a fitting end.
Davis hit two home runs, giving him 47 this season, and listened to fans chant for him after the game.
The day ended well for the Orioles. It was their fifth straight win, and they end the season at .500 with a 9-4 victory over the New York Yankees before 33,224 at Oriole Park on Sunday.
“I was pretty fired up after I hit the first one. The second one, I felt like i was in shock running around the bases. The last few games have been pretty special, finishing up strong was big to a lot of guys in here,” Davis said.
Davis began perhaps his final day with the Orioles by accepting his second Most Valuable Oriole award. Two years ago, Davis picked up his first and proclaimed his love for Baltimore and hope for a long-term deal.
That hasn’t happened.
Two years later, there’s word that the Orioles may be preparing a lucrative offer for the slugger, but it may not be enough to entice him to stay.
Besides the two home runs, he had a double and scored a run.
“Today, when I was driving in, I said: ‘man, this might be the last time I’m making this drive.’ Just times throughout the day, I wasn’t trying to dwell on it. When I was walking down the tunnel, it hit me hard,” Davis said.
While most of the attention was centered around Davis, it was an emotional day for Matt Wieters, too. He could be a highly sought after free agent, too.
Wieters, who was 2-for-5, had similar thoughts.
“I loved every second I've spent here and I loved everybody in this clubhouse, and I loved all the fans. If it ends today, it was a great time,” Wieters said.
Manager Buck Showalter, who faced the loss of two of his favorite players, suffered a more important loss. His mother, Lina Showalter, died at 87 late last night.
He wanted to talk about baseball, not himself.
“This time of year you reach for small victories. That they didn't give in. I know there were a lot of teams counting on us to play the way we played. For that, I'm really proud,” Showalter said.
Besides Davis and Wieters, Gerardo Parra and Steve Pearce are also possible free agents.
Parra was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Pearce was hitless in three at-bats.
Chris Tillman (11-11) worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs.
The Orioles (81-81) finished the season on a five-game winning streak and without a complete game for the first time and end the year at .500 for just the second time in team history.
Manny Machado, the only major leaguer to play in all 162 games, was 0-for-4.
Darren O’Day, another possible free agent, pitched a perfect eighth.
Meanwhile, New York (87-75) plays Houston in the wild-card game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.
Michael Pineda (12-10) allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings.
Davis has received vocal support from Adam Jones and Manny Machado. Jones has publicly stated that he’ll go to managing partner Peter Angelos to lobby for an extension for Davis.
“It means a lot. I’ve said before, this is a great group in here. I feel like we’re all brothers in here, and we’re all looking out for each other. We keep in touch in the off-season, and I really express them stepping out to express how much they want me back. I can’t say enough about them,” Davis said.
Davis, Wieters and O’Day were clubhouse leaders, people Showalter turned to.
“It's become quite a family, something that I really want to do when I came here. Make everybody feel like they had a stake in this,” Showalter said.
Wieters will take his time to savor the season.
“It's a good way to finish. A good way to finish the season. It's a good way to not have a losing season, go 81-81, and it's a good way to finish. It was emotional before the game, and then the game came and I was able to focus on the task at hand and then when it's over, it's over and you soak it in for a little bit...and be ready for an off-season,” Wieters said.
If Davis leaves Baltimore, he does with a smile on his face, remembering the crowd’s ovation.
“It was pretty awesome. I didn't want to step out and take anything away from the game, but I appreciate their support. I’ve said it before but they’ve supported me throughout, whether it was god times or bad times. I really appreciated that, the way people treated my family. it was a pretty special day,” Davis said.
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