Boston Red Sox: Rafael Devers is custom made for October

It was that one swing of the bat that electrified the Fenway Park crowd and that one smile that energized the Boston Red Sox as they did the unthinkable in eliminating the Tampa Bay Rays.

In launching the 3-run blast that gave the Red Sox an early 3-0 lead in the team’s 6-5 Game 4 win, Rafael Devers once again proved what he continues to prove over and over again.  He is simply a clutch player whether it is the regular season or the postseason.

Boston Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers just has that clutch factor

Just 24 years old, Devers has six homers and 20 RBI in the postseason and every one of them seem to be memorable.  Even when the team didn’t go deep in the playoffs during his first season in the league, Devers was one of the bright spots in hitting an inside-the park home run in 2017 when the team was eliminated in the American League Divisional Series against the Houston Astros.

He further showcased his clutch ability at the plate during the team’s 2018 World Series run when he had key hits and home runs.  And although he started the 2021 ALDS against the Rays quiet at the plate, he made noise in Game 2 with a two-run blast and again in Game 4 with a 3-run blast.

All smiles, Devers is not only playing himself to a big contract for what he has done in the regular season, but what he continues to do in the postseason as that Mr. October nickname is quickly becoming his own.

"“This kid since 2017, it’s all he knows, right? Playoffs, and be good in the playoffs,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said following the game, via MLB.com. “When we played him in ’17, he was always smiling. There was no pressure, and he put great at-bats. Even the last game here, he hit that inside-the-park home run against Ken Giles, I think it was, and it seemed like he was born to play in October.“He did it in ’18, and then this year, that last game of the regular season kind of like set the tone for the team to keep going and keep pushing. And what he did today, that was a great swing. He was under control the whole night, put good at-bats, played great defense.”"

In taking on the nickname “Little Papi” because of his resemblance to the great David Ortiz who is known as Big Papi, Devers has the ability to set all kinds of records in the postseason before he even hits his prime.  He is already in the top 10 in all-time Red Sox postseason homeruns and with his 20 RBI in the postseason he became the seventh player in Major League history to do so through their first 20 career postseason games.

The scary part is he still has more games to play this postseason, which will be fun for Red Sox fans who are witnessing a young player continue to emerge and a player who is already looking like he is custom made for October.