Red Sox star Rafael Devers crushed a home run in batting practice.
Tales of Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers‘ latest batting practice session are quickly becoming legendary.
The rumors began during the live stream broadcast of Sunday’s intrasquad scrimmage when NESN announcer Dave O’Brien revealed a story he had heard from Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers . Details were sketchy at the time, but word on the street was that Devers had crushed a home run in batting practice that hit the right field facade at Fenway Park where the numbers of retired players hang.
Depending on who you ask, the ball struck either Pedro Martinez‘ No. 45 or David Ortiz‘ No. 34. Either way, that’s a long way from home plate. How long? WEEI’s Rob Bradford checked with Red Sox Director of Education and Process Analysis Greg Rybarczyk, inventor of the Home Run Tracker. Rybarczyk estimates that the home run from Devers traveled approximately 475 feet.
Sure, it was only batting practice, but that doesn’t make what Devers did any less impressive. Carl Yastrzemski is believed to be the only player to hit the right field facade during a game, which goes to show how difficult it is to hit a ball that far at Fenway. Not only do you need to hit the ball far, it must maintain enough elevation to reach the Sam Adams deck.
According to Baseball Savant, a 475-foot home run would have been the ninth-longest home run in the majors last year. Jackie Bradley Jr. is the only Red Sox player to hit one further last season but his 478-foot blast came in the thin air of Colorado’s Coors Field.
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The furthest home run that Devers hit last season traveled 458 feet. While still impressive, it ranked only 51st in the majors last year. We should have known that Devers was capable of longer distances though. He ranked 13th with an average exit velocity of 92.4 mph and 25th with a max exit velocity of 115 mph last season.
Another interesting note about this batting practice blast is that it came against a pitching machine that was dialing up left-handed curveballs. Devers historically hasn’t hit for as much power against lefties, with only 12 of his 63 career home runs coming against a southpaw. Even when you account for having nearly triple the amount of at-bats against right-handed pitching, his power against lefties pales in comparison to his home run production against right-handers.
The curve gave Devers a bit more trouble than other pitches he saw last year. According to FanGraphs, Devers produced only 0.8 runs above average against the curveball. Only the splitter (0.3) kept his production in check at a lower rate.
Some fans may shrug when they hear about a long home run hit in batting practice but when you dig into these details you see how impressive the accomplishment is. Devers certainly impressed some of his teammates and he had Fenway buzzing.