Rafael Devers has been racking up home runs this season, and MLB has taken notice. The Boston Red Sox third baseman is a three-time All-Star and has received MVP votes in four of his seven complete MLB seasons, but his name is rarely mentioned among baseball's great hitters.
Devers was selected as an alternate for the 2024 All-Star game, but he skipped the event to rest a nagging shoulder injury. The 27-year-old was still credited for his achievements this season at the event.
Devers and the Cleveland Guardians' José Ramírez are frequently the top competitors for the start as the American League's All-Star third baseman. Ramírez won the job this year and advanced to the second round of the Home Run Derby. He shared his admiration for Devers' work at the plate.
“It’s incredible,” Ramírez said through an interpreter at All-Star Media Day. “As a hitter, I have to confess sometimes I don’t know how he gets to some of those pitches.”
Rafael Devers' numbers at Yankee Stadium don't even make sense 🤯@markdero7 takes a deep dive into last night's series finale in the Bronx and the lefty slugger's big night. pic.twitter.com/5pHfjklMma
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 8, 2024
José Ramírez praised fellow AL All-Star Red Sox Rafael Devers for his "incredible" bat
Devers' name has been in the news in recent weeks, as he's been slugging home runs at his fastest pace ever. He broke a Red Sox franchise record when he mashed a homer in six consecutive games in May.
He's also received national attention for his utter dominance against the Yankees. He's homered at Yankee Stadium a whopping 16 times to tie David Ortiz as the Red Sox with the most homers in the Bronx in franchise history. He's also gone yard against New York's ace Gerrit Cole eight times in his career.
Devers most recently garnered attention for the long ball he hit against Michael Tonkin on July 7. The ball was easily five inches off the plate, but Devers got his bat to it and smacked it into the Yankee bullpen for his second homer of the night.
The Red Sox third baseman — the face of the franchise, as his skipper Alex Cora calls him — is getting his flowers from some of the best hitters in the league and national media to end the first half of an MVP-caliber campaign. Praise from Ramírez, who's also off to a great start in the AL MVP conversation on the AL Central's best team, shouldn't be taken lightly.