Rafael Devers made his debut at first base for the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.
How did it go?
Devers actually had his best overall performance in quite a while, belting a run-scoring double at the plate in a blowout victory over the Atlanta Braves — all while playing a clean game in his first appearance in the field this season.
Devers even went as far as to say he prefers playing in the field to being a designated hitter, according to San Francisco Chronicle’s Shayna Rubin.
“It keeps me active. It keeps my head out of just thinking about the next at-bat,” Devers said. “…I’d rather be on the field than in the cage hitting all the time and thinking about the next at-bat.”
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Wait…
Devers famously refused to play in the field for the Boston Red Sox, didn’t he? It’s like the entire reason he was traded away back in June, no? Red Sox owner John Henry personally asked him to do it before being publicly refuted by the slugger, right?
Yep!
The San Francisco Giants even had trouble getting him to assimilate early in his tenure with that organization, as he notably stood up a franchise legend who took time out of his day to try and help the slugger learn a new position. Devers eventually caved and has been decent enough to have the club try it out in games, but the entire thing remains odd.
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Devers’ galaxy-brained decision to publicly contradict himself definitely won’t help him keep fans back in Boston — though he likely doesn’t care.
