ESPN Describes How Rafael Devers ‘Graduated To Stardom’ In 2019

Let’s be thankful Rafael Devers has grown out of those awkward, uncoordinated years as a Major League Baseball player.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan described Thursday how the Boston Red Sox third baseman “graduated to stardom” in 2019. Passan Devers started the season as a “talented but unproven young hitter,” “grew” until “everything came together” and now fully deserves the stardom his historic 2019 season has bestowed upon him.

“He grew,” Passan writes. “Devers began the season without a home run in his first 32 games, but then everything suddenly came together and he’s hitting over .300 with 50 doubles and 30 home runs.

Here’s how Passan describes the arc of the first three seasons of Devers’ MLB career.

“Came up at 20 with a stratospheric start,” Passan writes. “Returned to earth, struggled and slumped his second season. Put everything together this year and now leads the AL in total bases. That’s actually a pretty archetypal star turn — from wunderkind to learning to fully realized.”

Perhaps Devers’ story, as Passan tells it, reflects the value of education. Here’s hoping Devers’ next three years are even better than the preceding ones.