Everything You Need to Know About All-Stars
It was August 13, 2017 when 20-year-old Rafael Devers thrust himself onto the radar of baseball fans everywhere. Then-Yankee lefty Aroldis Chapman took care of that by hitting a home run on a 102.8 mph pitch.
This was history. The fastest pitch ever thrown that resulted in a homer came against a pitcher who had not allowed a home run to a lefty hitter since 2011.
Sunday night, Devers decided it was time for another Yankee Stadium reminder of how different it is.
Two more home runs in the Yankees’ home ballpark – giving them 16 homers in 57 games at the venue – were all it took for the Red Sox’s latest win, ending in a 3–0 victory against the New Yorkers.
But it was the panache provided by the Red Sox third baseman that really provided insight into what we’re seeing with this player.
Had a defensive play to end the eighth inning, storming off DJ LeMahieu’s slow roller before throwing the ball bare-handed and firing to first. Sure, no infielder can compare Devers to Brooks Robinson, but the game — as well as his ability to pitch with only six errors on July 8 — is something different.
And then there was that second home run, which left the kind of indelible mark we experienced with the Chapman homer.
As has happened in years past, Devers did something that left baseball followers eager for an explanation about the slugger’s physical feats. This time the curiosity came courtesy of a ninth-inning homer that couldn’t be explained.
“He likes the spotlight and he’s very cool about it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters. “But you could feel it (from Devers) in the dugout right from the start. It seemed like the stadium was quieter today than the last two days, and he kept saying, ‘Come on guys, we’ve got to keep going.’ We have to push. And then at the end, he put us on his shoulders and carried us to the ‘W’.”
Then the big picture is what Devers is doing for a Red Sox team that is just three games behind the Yankees in the loss column for the top Wild Card spot.
For starters, he’s having arguably the best all-around season of his career. For reference, here’s where Devers landed on July 8 last season:
2023: .254 batting average, .822 OPS, 20 homers, 70 RBI.
2022: .327 batting average, .977 OPS, 19 homers, 51 RBI.
2021: .286 batting average, .921 OPS, 21 homers, 71 RBI.
2019: .324 batting average, .923 OPS, 16 homers, 62 RBI.
2018: .246 batting average, .726 OPS, 14 homers, 48 RBI.
this year? Devers is hitting .293 with a .971 OPS, 21 homers and 55 RBI.
It may be difficult now to remember the story of the first month of this season and how Devers’ existence was not living up to his contract or his expectations. But then came the moment on May 11 when Washington manager Dave Martinez decided it was a good idea to move Tyler O’Neal to Devers.
Since Devers paid Martínez that day, he has a 1.024, which trails only Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, Gunnar Henderson and Bryce Harper during that time.
This was possibly the key to what would become Devers’ most memorable season. Meanwhile, while we were watching all this play out, the third baseman provided some more unforgettable examples.