#2: The Emergence of Rafael Devers
It’s hard to talk about Rafael Devers and not get a huge smile on your face. Seriously, this kid is just a pleasure to watch play baseball and he does it with such a level of joy that it’s infectious. He made his debut in 2017, won a World Series in 2018, and took over the city of Boston in 2019.
The Red Sox would be buried in the standings if it weren’t for the play of Devers and his infield compatriot Xander Bogaerts. I’ll get more into Bogey, later on, this one is all about Raffy. When I call Devers a kid I don’t mean it in a disrespectful way, because he still is a kid.
At just 22 years old he is doing things a player his age just shouldn’t be doing. He’s also doing things that haven’t been done in a Red Sox uniform since Ted Williams, so I guess he’s good at the baseball. He’s currently sitting on a .311 AVG which is the highest on the team and has been all season long.
Don’t forget that he was the first hitter in the Majors to smack 50 doubles this year, he’s also sitting on 29 homers. One more and he’ll be joining Bogey in the 50/30 Club. But that’s just half the story as Raffy has fully changed his play in the field in order to cut back on the number of errors he was making. Right now he has 22 under his belt which is down from the 24 he tallied in 2019 but there’s still time in the season to hit that mark.
Whether he’s making a great play in the field or smashing dingers to centerfield, Devers plays the game with such happiness. He can be seen grinning from ear to ear every game because when it’s all said and done, he gets to play ball with his buddies every day. What’s better than that? I can’t wait to see how he continues to grow and advance in the game, it’s going to be one hell of a sight.