From 2003-16, Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz terrorized the MLB, but he was especially great against the New York Yankees.
During that span, Ortiz played the Yankees 225 times in the regular season, hitting .304 against them with a .974 OPS, 52 home runs and 162 RBIS. He played them just 14 times in the postseason, hitting .333 with a 1.065 OPS, five home runs and 17 RBIs.
After Ortiz retired in 2016, Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers made his debut, and he's already made four All-Star games in his eight seasons. He's the clear face of the franchise, and he's dominating the Yankees just as Ortiz did for so many years.
He's appeared in 106 games against New York, and he's hit .269 with an .871 OPS, 28 home runs and 71 RBIs. In 67 games at Yankee Stadium, he's hit .268 with an .839 OPS, 16 home runs and 35 RBIs.
However, it's not the stats specifically that have his at-bats feeling like Ortiz's against New York. It's the clutch factor.
As a rookie, Devers took an Aroldis Chapman 103 mph fastball deep at Yankee Stadium in the top of the ninth. Boston would go on to win the game 3-2 in 10 innings.
Devers takes Chapman deep - 08/13/2017 pic.twitter.com/TcWaayTVXM
— Dom (@BronxBmbrz) January 21, 2024
This past weekend, Devers did it again, hitting his 1,000th career hit and a home run against New York on Saturday, and he followed it up with a two-home-run game in a 3-2 series-clinching victory on Sunday.
1,000 career hits for Rafael Devers! 👏 pic.twitter.com/KSeljMnmGv
— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2024
Rafael Devers may singlehandedly convince the Yankees to delete their franchise pic.twitter.com/SghRv9fzzq
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 8, 2024
While Boston hasn't done the best job keeping the All-Star talent around him, they've found the face of the franchise, and he's having one of the best seasons of his career.
