Most likely because of the highly publicized move to be the designated hitter of the Boston Red Sox, the immediate struggles of Rafael Devers at the plate this season had the sharks smelling blood in the water. Things were even going so far as to say that the $300+ million man could demand a trade or something of that ilk, despite changing his tune on the matter throughout the spring. So when he was also striking out at a record rate to start the season, the alarm bells were sounding.
Quietly, however, Devers had started to turn that narrative around before Sunday's doubleheader against the Cardinals. But if you hadn't noticed then, you'll certainly notice now after what the DH did to a Andre Pallante fastball.
In the bottom of the fifth inning of a 1-1 game and with the cold weather keeping a lot of balls in play, Fenway Park couldn't contain Devers' as he tattooed a mistake from Pallante 393 feet over the Green Monster, where he may be ready to take all of the hate and negativity and park it now.
Raffy with the go-ahead blast! ☄️ pic.twitter.com/wim1O8clqD
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 6, 2025
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Rafael Devers blasts first HR and the Red Sox haters are on the verge of being in shambles
Even before going deep for the first time this season, Devers was showing signs of finding his bat again. After getting his first hit, an RBI double, in Wednesday's win over the Orioles, he'd registered a hit and had been on base at least twice in each of the three previous games before Sunday, going 4-for-11 with three walks over that span. Even better, the underlying numbers said he was hitting the ball hard.
It felt, especially with the energy at Fenway Park for the home opener on Friday, that something big was coming for Devers and he delivered in a big spot with a go-ahead bomb against the Cardinals.
While so much criticism was levied at Devers to start the season, though, the truth of the matter is that it's never been about unhappiness, pouting or even his weight. This is a guy who is adjusting to a new routine as he's no longer playing the field but who also missed the majority of spring training still rehabbing from the shoulder injury that ended his 2024 season. He was always going to take a bit to get right.
Now, would you have liked him to not strike out 75% of the time while doing that? Sure, but Devers is too damn good of a hitter to just forget how to do that. We're starting to see that and fans who were already paying attention had seen it as well. Now, his first homer of the 2025 season is just an exclamation mark on that fact.