Rafael Devers is one of the most positive players in baseball — at least, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora thinks so.
“He’s a happy guy. Raffy comes here and everybody loves him. He’ll say hi to everybody in English and Spanish,” Cora said before Saturday’s game against the New York Yankees. “It’s just a joy. He’s just a little kid enjoying the game. The fact that he’s making a lot of money and he can hit homers, I’d be happy too. But he enjoys it. He enjoys the moment too and he enjoys winning.”
Cora said the star’s optimism is always there, regardless of whether he’s having a strong individual performance. That specific aspect of his attitude is something Cora believes was learned from other players, including some who are no longer with the team.
“There’s days that he can go 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, and when we win the game … he’s the happiest guy out there. He learned that from Mookie (Betts), from Jackie (Bradley Jr.) and from Xander (Bogaerts) and from Christian (Vázquez) and from J.D. (Martinez). Regardless of your performance that day, at the end of the day, if you get a W, you’ve got to be happy. And he’s always happy.”
Like Cora alluded to, it’s probably hard not to smile when you’re leading the league in RBIs and launching 100 career home runs to join an elite club of Red Sox players who have done so before turning 25.
