Rafael Devers gets hilariously timed award after eventful week
Rafael Devers drew some deserved criticism last week, after exhibiting some of the most publicly selfish behavior you’ll ever witness from a ballplayer. He also raked at the plate as…
May 12, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Boston Red Sox third base Rafael Devers (11) hits a single first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Rick Osentoski-Imagn ImagesRafael Devers drew some deserved criticism last week, after exhibiting some of the most publicly selfish behavior you'll ever witness from a ballplayer. He also raked at the plate as this was going on.
Now, Major League Baseball has done the funniest thing possible: after all this, they've given Devers an award.
Devers was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday, after leading the league in batting average (.476), RBIs (8), and OPS (1.387) over six games. He mashed two home runs and a double in that same span. Most importantly, the Red Sox went 4-2 over that stretch, but not that Devers is necessarily paying attention to that.
The designated hitter made headlines for the wrong reasons last week, after he essentially ripped his own GM (that would be chief baseball officer Craig Breslow) for even asking him to move to first base in the wake of a season-ending injury to Triston Casas. He and the team temporarily took some of the stink off that with a weekend series win in Kansas City. But the hilarious irony of Devers getting handed an award after his comments last week, speaks for itself.
It's understandable for Devers to be frustrated about getting jerked around, and he couldn't be expected to just dive right in and play a position he's never played without problems or time to prepare. But he stripped himself of all sympathy by saying anything other than, "I'll do whatever's best for the team." Keeping him at DH, and cycling through the likes of Abraham Toro and Nick Sogard at first, is most certainly not best for the team.
Devers went 1-for-1 with two walks in Monday's 14-2 road loss to the Detroit Tigers. On the bright side, Toro went deep for the first time as a member of the Red Sox. But they're lucky that the city is entirely focused on the status of Jayson Tatum and the Celtics' playoff series against the Knicks on Tuesday.
They better get back to winning, and Devers better keep driving the ball, because the stench of his selfishness isn't completely gone. Congrats on the one-week award, though.
