Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers reaches 200 hits

Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Dever collected his 200th hit of 2019 in the final regular season game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Rafael Devers entered the final game of the year for the Boston Red Sox needing two hits to reach 200 for the season. He ended up getting three and made sure each one of them counted.

Devers went 3-for-5 on Sunday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles. His first hit was a single to right field that drove in Jackie Bradley Jr. to pull Boston within a run.

He doubled in the seventh inning for his 200th hit of 2019. A base hit from Xander Bogaerts drove in Devers from second to briefly give the Red Sox a lead, potentially putting Eduardo Rodriguez in line for his 20th win of the season. The bullpen blew that opportunity, of course.

Devers wasn’t done though. He would get one last chance in the bottom of the ninth inning with Mookie Betts standing on first base. A bouncing ball up the middle deflected off the second baseman’s glove and rolled into right field. Betts raced around the bases, catching a nonchalant defense napping to score the winning run.

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This marks the 28th time in Red Sox history that a player has recorded 200+ hits in a season and Devers is the youngest to do so. Earlier this week, Devers broke a franchise record held by Bogaerts for the most hits in a season by a player under the age of 23. Only 17 players in major league history have had a 200-hit season before the age of 23.

The double from Devers that represented hit No. 200 was his major league-leading 90th extra-base hit of the season. That’s the most extra-base hits in a single season by a player under the age of 23 since Alex Rodriguez had 91 in 1996. Joe DiMaggio is the only other player with more extra-base hits by that age (96 in 1937).

Devers will finish the season second in the American League in hits behind Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield‘s 206. New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu entered the day one behind Devers in the hit column but went without a hit in his final regular season game of the season.

This season obviously didn’t pan out the way we wanted with the Red Sox missing the postseason. It’s hard to say it wasn’t entertaining though. Watching rising young stars like Devers have a breakout season was a treat that made the season worthwhile. 2019 was a disappointment but the future of the franchise is in good shape with Devers serving as one of the foundations.