In His 20th Game, Rafael Devers Makes Some More History

And to think there were some people out there who thought the Red Sox were promoting 20-year-old Rafael Devers to the big league club too soon.

Devers spent all of last year in Class A (Salem). He begin this year in Portland (AA) and played 77 games before being sent to Pawtucket (AAA). He barely had time to unpack as he was called up to Boston after only two weeks.

And since making his debut on July 25, Devers has done nothing but succeed. He has had a walk or a hit in 18 of his 20 games. He is currently hitting .364/.424/.727 for an OPS of 1.151.

Devers is one of only five Red Sox players to have a four-hit game before the age of 21. Devers also joined Ted Williams and Tony Conigliaro as the only Red Sox players to homer in back-to-back games before the age of 21.

And last night, Devers hit his eighth home run of the year. He is the only player in baseball history to have as many as eight homers in his first 20 major league games before turning 21. Devers joined George Scott (1966) as the only Red Sox hitters (at any age) with as many as eight taters through their first 20 career games.

Devers is also the only Red Sox hitter in (at least) the last 100 years to hit safely in 17 of his first 20 games, before turning 21. Overall, he is only the third player to do so, joining two Hall of Famers: Roberto Clemente (1955) and Ivan Rodriguez (1991).

Devers's 28 hits are the most by a Red Sox hitter through 20 career games since Johnny Pesky also had 28 in 1942.

Here is a list of the only batters in major league history to hit home runs in three straight games against the Yankees before turning 21 years old:

Babe Ruth: May 6, June 2, and June 25, 1915
Rafael Devers: August 13, 18, and 19, 2017