Why This David Ortiz Trend Should Ease Red Sox-Rafael Devers Panic

Rafael Devers is currently 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts on the season. That’s historically unusual and extremely unlike the most productive hitter for the Boston Red Sox in recent seasons.

For as much panic, concern and overreaction as there has been regarding Devers’s start to the season, which is only heightened after the well-documented series of statements that led to his position change, he’s not the first Boston designated hitter to struggle in the early weeks of the season.

David Ortiz, the Boston icon who rewrote the expectations and potential of the designated hitter position, had startling beginnings that rattled the media and fanbase in both the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

David Ortiz, April 2009
Stats: 22 G, .230/.290/.333, .623 OPS, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 8 BB, 22 K

David Ortiz, April 2010
Stats: 16 G, .143/.238/.286, .524 OPS, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 7 BB, 21 K

Ortiz didn’t hit his first home run until May in 2009, and 2010 saw manager Terry Francona briefly platoon Ortiz with the injury-affected version of Mike Lowell at DH. Those starts also dominated media headlines just as this stretch for Devers and the Red Sox did.

No doubt, it’s understandable to be baffled, confused and concerned about how Devers looks at the plate. Yes, he only had 15 plate appearances in spring training and must learn a routine that’s not playing third base. But there’s still plenty of belief that Devers is a swing away from turning this around, right?

Because there should be.

After both of his brutal starts, Ortiz lit the offense on fire for a month in 2009 and 2010. June was that month in 2009 when he hit .320 with a 1.062 OPS, seven home runs and 18 RBI. He expedited that turnaround in 2010 with a .363 average in May for a 1.211 OPS, 10 home runs and 27 RBI. He even earned an All-Star nod and won the Home Run Derby in Anaheim that summer.

Is it that hard to believe that the current Red Sox slugger can’t do that when he finally finds a rhythm and makes consistent hard contact again?

If Devers indeed reaches out to Ortiz during the year for advice, maybe it’s not about the routine of a designated hitter. Maybe it’s learning how to blast out of a slump the same way the Red Sox hero did in back-to-back seasons.

The concerns, not the full-fledged panic and emotional overreactions, are understandable. But there’s already a historical precedent for such a turnaround for a Red Sox designated hitter. Devers is totally capable and it’s up to him to offer a stern reminder of such.