Breakout year comes easy to Davis, but journey to stardom didn't

As good as he's been, however, Davis may see fewer pitches to hit down the stretch, especially from his No. 5 spot in the batting order, with usual No. 6

Joe Lemire | Jul 25, 2013

Breakout year comes easy to Davis, but journey to stardom didn't /

Chris Davis leads the majors in home runs (37), RBIs (7) and slugging percentage (.695). — Chris Davis leads the majors in home runs (37), RBIs (7) and slugging percentage (.695) / Icon SMI

As good as he's been, however, Davis may see fewer pitches to hit down the stretch, especially from his No. 5 spot in the batting order, with usual No. 6 hitter, Matt Wieters, not having his best season. With 60 games to go, he's 24 homers shy of Maris and 36 short of Barry Bonds. Joining their company in the 60- and 70-home run clubs is something even Davis can't make look easy.

Published Jul 25, 2013

JOE LEMIRE

Staff Writer, Sports Illustrated Staff writer Joe Lemire is in his seventh year at Sports Illustrated and his fourth season covering baseball full time. Lemire writes features and analysis for SI and SI.com and is responsible for the website's weekly MLB Power Rankings. He has profiled Pirates star Andrew McCutchen and Braves rookie sensation Evan Gattis for the magazine. Lemire's penchant for covering America's pastime is to be expected considering his inspirations, Tom Verducci and Peter Gammons, are among the most well-known writers in the sport. Before his current role, Lemire spent his first three years with SI oscillating between baseball, college basketball, high school football and sports business. This came on the heels of a summer internship with the magazine in 2004 and a tenure as a stringer with SI: On Campus. Born in Richmond, Va., and raised in Lowell, Mass., Lemire graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005 with a B.A. in government and a minor in economics. Before joining SI he covered high school and college sports for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va. He earned two Virginia Press Association awards for his work, one while a student writing at University of Virginia's Cavalier Daily and one at the Daily News-Record.