TDMN

ARLINGTON -- Striking out at the plate is something that haunts Texas Rangers first baseman Chris Davis.

His strikeouts are up from 30 percent of his at bats last year to a league-leading 44 percent this year.

His batting average has dipped to .202, 83 points below the .285 average he ended with last year, and his on-base percentage is down to .259 from last year's .331 through Tuesday.

But what keeps him in the lineup is his defense. He can handle a throw to first and no one in today's game has mastered the art of the stretch better than Davis.

"I don't really know where it comes from," Davis said. "To be honest with you, I think if you ask right now to spread down and get that far, I don't think I could come close to it."

"I don't know how he does it," Rangers third baseman Michael Young said. "I didn't know he was that athletic."

At 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, Davis looks more like a tight end than a baseball player. He shows unusual flexibility for a big man, something that takes manager Ron Washington back in time.

"He does it the old time way, you used to see that a lot, but you just don't see that often anymore," the Rangers manager said. "Once those groins start coming into play, I guess those first baseman stop."

AP

The Rangers don't keep stats on how many runs Davis has saved so far this year, but those who know best say the number is at least 12 so far and still counting.

They do track fielding percentage, and Davis has a .997 fielding percentage, committing only two errors through Tuesday.

"For a young kid to be that polished defensively is pretty impressive," Young said. "He works at it. He wants to be good defensively, with some work and time, he's gonna be one of the best in the league."

"It definitely saves the distance of the throw," said Washington, of Davis' stretch. "It takes bang-bang plays away sometimes."

Flexibility is not something Davis planned on. It just happened.

"I've been asked questions about if I do yoga or anything like that," he said. "I've thought about in the offseason, but I never got around to it."

And right now, it doesn't look like he needs it.