September 13, 2022

Devers: 19 HR Against Yankees (One Shy Of Boston Record Before Age 26: TSW, 20)


Rafael Devers has hit 19 home runs against the Yankees in his career (including six this season).

The only player in Red Sox history with more homers against the Yankees before turning 26 is Ted Williams, who hit 20. Devers has six more games this season in which to tie or pass TSW. Devers's 26th birthday is roughly three weeks after the end of the regular season, on October 24.

It should be noted that Williams hit his 20 dongs in only four seasons. He missed his age 24, 25, and 26 seasons because of military service. However, the games played and plate appearances for Williams and Devers are very similar at the moment.
Williams:  80 games  349 PA  20 HR
Devers:  82 games  339 PA  18 HR
Williams
     AGE    G   PA   HR    AVG   OBP   SLG    OPS
1939 20 18 77 6 .350 .494 .783 1.277
1940 21 19 84 6 .353 .476 .677 1.153
1941* 22 21 92 2 .471 .609 .632 1.241
1942 23 22 96 6 .299 .438 .584 1.022
1943 24 Did not play, military service
1944 25 Did not play, military service 80 349 20
Devers
      AGE   G   PA   HR    AVG   OBP   SLG    OPS
2017 20 10 39 3 .306 .359 .583 .942
2018 21 13 52 1 .204 .231 .286 .517
2019 22 19 82 3 .276 .329 .513 .843
2020 23 10 46 1 .209 .261 .326 .587
2021 24 19 76 5 .250 .316 .500 .816
2022 25 11 44 6 .250 .318 .750 1.068 82 339 18
Jimmie Foxx, who made his major league debut at age 17, hit 32 homers against the Yankees in the nine seasons before his 26th birthday. (He clubbed 10 each at ages 24 and 25.)

*: In 1941, Williams batted .444/.588/.905 against the lowly Philadelphia Athletics in 85 PA (for a n OPS of 1.493). He walked 21 times and struck out once, that lone strikeout coming on September 27, in his final plate appearance in the next-to-last game of the season, one of only 27 times (in 606 PA) he struck out that year. The following day, the Red Sox ended its season with a doubleheader against the Athletics, Williams went 6-for-9, finishing with a .406 average.

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