Red Sox DH Rafael Devers Gives Candid Reaction To Breaking 0-for-21 Slump

It had to be a weight off the slugger's shoulders

Feb 18, 2025; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers (11) participates in media day at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Every ballplayer experiences slumps from time to time, but it's made a lot worse when everyone around Major League Baseball is talking about yours.

Such was the case for the Boston Red Sox's new designated hitter, Rafael Devers. The 28-year-old slugger was the subject of a fair amount of drama throughout the spring about giving up his third base position, and when he started the season on a long hitless streak, it seemed just about everyone had a take.

Devers was 0-for-19 through his first four games with a whopping 15 strikeouts. He started Wednesday night's game in Baltimore 0-for-2, but finally, in the fifth inning, against Orioles starter Zach Eflin, Raffy connected.

With a 109.5-mile-per-hour RBI double down the right field line, Devers broke the streak. What's more, he followed it up in his next at-bat with a roped single at the exact same exit velocity. His stats on the year may still be ugly, but there's plenty of time to turn that around.

After the game, Devers insisted he was never worried about his own performance, but he admitted he'd heard from a lot of people who seemed to be a bit more concerned.

“I knew it was going to come," Devers said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. "But I also received a lot of texts from people worried about me. And I was OK. So it’s more about other people than for me.”

Devers also touched on the reaction from the Red Sox dugout, which was doing a lot more hooting and hollering than they typically would for an RBI double by a star player on Apr. 2.

“I enjoyed it a lot. It makes me happy seeing that reaction because that makes me see they are paying attention to my at-bat and they’re supporting me," Devers said.

Wednesday's win was enormous for the Red Sox, who were on a four-game losing streak, and Devers playing a key role was the cherry on top. They'll look to take the series in Baltimore on Thursday with 2024 All-Star Tanner Houck on the mound.

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