BOSTON – All MLB hitters go through slumps from time to time, including Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers.
But the best of the best in the league find a way to make sure the slumps don’t last long. That, oddly enough, hasn’t been the case for Devers lately.
The left-handed hitter had a brutal September, batting just .183 with no home runs and three RBIs in the month. Devers appeared to hit rock bottom during Boston’s road game at Tropicana Field this week against the Tampa Bay Rays, going 0-for-11 with an incredible eight strikeouts in the series.
Devers’ problems are obvious, but no solution to his problems has been found yet. Even Red Sox manager Alex Cora is baffled by what Devers has been through at the plate.
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“Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Cora said before Friday’s game at the Minnesota Twins. “One thing is for sure: In the cage, you see him — and even (on Thursday) there was a batting performance where he kind of visualized his performance. That tells me he knows what’s going on and where he’s at. There are certain shots he takes and he misses and he’s surprised he did that.”
Devers has been plagued by injuries all season, including shoulder problems, but he doesn’t use that as an excuse for his weak bat.
Devers looked at times this month to be coming out of a slump. He had a three-hit game against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 9, but couldn’t sustain it. When he’s at his best, he throws the ball to all fields, which he hasn’t been able to do during this stretch.
“I call it a click. He’s one click away from throwing one,” Cora said. “My biggest concern is that he hasn’t hit the ball to left center field. Teams attack him a certain way. It’s been going on for years. But I think him not hitting the ball to left center field tells me there’s something wrong mechanically. (Red Sox hitting coach) Pete (Fatse) and the group are working hard because it’s been a while with him.
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“He hasn’t mentioned the shoulders in a long time. He actually said, ‘I’m not in a good position right now,’ but he’s working on it. The key for me is the left-center position. And I haven’t seen him hit the ball into that gap in a long time.”
Despite these difficulties, Devers has remained committed. Just because he hasn’t found an answer to his offensive problems doesn’t mean one isn’t waiting for him soon.
“He encourages everybody, ‘We have to do this, we have to do that.’ Game planning is what he helps with,” Cora said. “But like I said, that hasn’t translated to the field. Right now, it’s not happening. Hopefully, it will happen today. He’s getting going. When we were the best hitting team in the major leagues, he was a big part of what we accomplished.”
