Giants’ Rafael Devers Compared To Slugging Ex-Red Sox MVP
Here’s an interesting footnote to last week’s Rafael Devers trade.
The slugger left Boston eight days ago after eight seasons and three All-Star Game selections.
His career Red Sox stats: 1,053 games, 4,549 plate appearances, 2,078 total bases, 1,136 hits, 663 runs scored, 215 home runs, 970 strikeouts and 24.9 WAR.
That compares favorably to a certain Red Sox legend, as first noted by FanGraphs: Mo Vaughn.
The first baseman also played eight seasons in Boston and, like Devers, earned three All-Star Game nods.
His Red Sox stats: 1,046 games, 4,452 plate appearances, 1,165 hits, 628 runs scored, 230 home runs, 954 strikeouts and 24.7 WAR.
Vaughn, as you may remember, earned American League MVP honors in 1995 after hitting 39 home runs with an AL-leading 126 RBI to help Boston win the division title.
Vaughn, a Connecticut native, followed his MVP campaign with a career season: 44 home runs and 143 RBI while hitting .326 and slashing .420/.583/1.003.
The “Hit Dog” left Boston after the 1998 season and signed a six-year, $80 million contract with the Anaheim Angels.
After a pair of 30-home run, 100-RBI seasons with the Angels, Anaheim traded Vaughn to the Mets. He played two seasons in New York before knee problems forced him into retirement.
Vaughn hit just 98 home runs in his four seasons after departing Boston with a paltry 2.4 WAR.
Devers hit his first home run since being traded to the Giants when he went deep Saturday against the Red Sox in San Francisco’s 3-2 win at Oracle Park. In the three-game series against his former teammates, Devers went 2-for-12 with two RBI and two runs scored.