Rafael Devers etched his name into Red Sox history Thursday when he hit his 30th home run of the season to help boost Boston past the Minnesota Twins.
He joined Ted Williams as the only Red Sox players to have multiple 30-home run seasons before turning 25.
After the game — a 12-2 victory for the home team — Alex Cora offered a blunt assessment of where his young star is at.
“I bet he’s about to get hot,” Cora said. “Thats a big number obviously. I think he’ll be able to breathe. I don’t know if he was trying to hit it, but he got it out of the way.”
While 30 home runs in one season is a milestone for anybody, regardless of age, this one clearly was a special moment for the homegrown superstar — especially considering his recent run at the plate. Entering Thursday, the 24-year-old was hitting just .222 through 22 games in August. He only had two home runs in that span.
The ever-positive Cora had an optimistic outlook on what that recent stretch meant to Devers’ development.
“For all his struggles the last three weeks, I see a guy that is actually maturing as a hitter, controlling the strike zone, understanding what’s going on around him and on the field and with the scoreboard,” Cora said. “He’ll go through stretches that he’s very aggressive. He’ll get upset, he’ll slam his helmet. But that’s the beauty of Raffy.
“He cares. He’s just a special player. Not too many people put him in the conversation of (Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto). He’s still 24. He led the league in extra-base hits in ’19, now he has 30 home runs, 90-something RBIs and he keeps getting better. It’s a pleasure watching him every night and to manage him.”
Watching history in the making sure is something.
