Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers has become one of the best players in baseball, showing marked improvement in each of the early years of his career. But, he hasn’t just improved his on-field game.
Throughout the 2022 season, his sixth in Major League Baseball, Devers has slowly but surely started to show off his improved English.
As a native of the Dominican Republic, Spanish is Devers’ first language, but the 25-year-old has worked hard to develop a familiarity with English. In May, he completed a fully-English interview with WEEI, drawing praise from his manager Alex Cora.
On Sunday, prior to the rubber-match between his Red Sox and the New York Yankees, Devers showed off once again.
ESPN analyst and fellow dual-language speaker Eduardo Pérez spoke with Devers prior to the game, coaxing the shy third baseman into sharing short, English descriptions of his Red Sox teammates. The results were tremendous.
Xander Bogaerts: “Captain.”
Eric Hosmer: “Happy guy.”
Nathan Eovaldi: “Good person.”
Kiké Hernández: “I think he’s the best utility (fielder) in the league. He plays second, short, everywhere he plays, he plays good.”
Alex Cora: “Mentor to the team.”
Following the rapid-fire, Pérez told Devers, “You know English,” to which Devers responded, “No, I don’t speak English.”
Devers is wrong, though. He does speak English. And has demonstrated that he can do it quite well. As he continues what is sure to be a long Major-League career, Devers will undoubtedly continue to improve — both as an wordsmith, and a ballplayer.
