Devers defies logic with massive HR as dominance against Yankees continues originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
Humans aren’t supposed to throw a pitch outside the strike zone for a 423-foot home run, but Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers is no ordinary human being.
After giving the Red Sox a 1–0 lead over the New York Yankees with a seventh-inning home run on Sunday night, Devers threw another ball into the Yankee Stadium bullpen during the ninth inning to increase Boston’s lead to 3. -0.
The crazy part about this home run was the fact that the pitch was well outside the strike zone, and yet Devers was able to muster incredible strength to not only hit it far, but also pull it 423 feet over the edge. fence.
Here’s a look at how far away from the zone the field was:
“The first (homer) was impressive,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters after his team’s 3-0 victory. including Ian Browne of MLB.com. “The second one, I saw the replay and I don’t know how you can do that. This shot is very wrong and he nailed it.
MLB’s Sarah Langs provided more context for the absurdity of Devers’ second home run:
this pitch was 1.50 feet from the center of the plate, the second-farthest outside pitch an LHB has made on Statcast (2015, including ps), behind only Schwarber off deGrom in 2015 NLCS G3, 1.58 feet
only 2 RHB have done HRB in such distant fields, so it’s the fourth furthest… https://t.co/FNldZ17TCK
– Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 8, 2024
Devers dominating Yankees pitching is nothing new.
After hitting three home runs over the weekend, he now has 28 home runs and 71 RBI against the Yankees in his career. Devers also has 11 career home runs at Yankee Stadium, the most in Red Sox history (one more than Jim Rice) and two behind Boog Powell’s most all-time (13).
Devers has been one of the most feared hitters in the league for most of his career, but he is especially productive in the Bronx. And that’s a very valuable trait if you’re a Red Sox player.