Rafael Devers needed to get out of Boston.
That much is clear when you hear the newly acquired San Francisco Giants superstar talk about the end of his tenure with the Red Sox.
He'll face his former team this weekend after just being traded away on Sunday, and it sounds like Devers is in a better place.
Devers was asked Friday by a reporter how long it had been since he was happy:
"It's been a long time," Devers said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. "I don't know how to explain it. Yes, I feel happy. I feel relaxed now."
"I feel very relaxed now."
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 20, 2025
Rafael Devers spoke to Bay Area and Boston reporters about the last time he was this happy professionally. pic.twitter.com/tb6DBnYG81
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It can be easy to forget sometimes that these professional athletes we watch on television, whose performances are dissected in so much detail, are human beings just like the rest of us.
Sure, Devers can crush a baseball to any part of the ballpark, but he feels, too.
It's refreshing in a couple ways: Devers felt comfortable enough to open up, and he also now has found a place where he simply can feel better about how he fits in.
Clearly, it's early, and there's no telling exactly how Devers' Bay Area tenure will unfold.
But right now, he's happy, and that's a mightily important thing.
Hopefully that continues, because there's no reason to want anything other than happiness for the players who star on our TV screens each night.
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