BOSTON — The last time Rafael Devers felt nervous, he wasn’t sure how to handle it. This was a new experience, after all, and he’d never seen many of these pitchers before. He was only 21. It was understandable. But then he dug into the box for that first plate appearance, and the butterflies dissipated.
Not the plate appearance in which he worked a walk against the best lefthanded pitcher in the sport, one of two times on base during Game 1 of the World Series, which his Red Sox won 8–4. It was the first plate appearance of spring training, in which he worked a walk against Northeastern freshman Harry Ennen.