Devers’ Situation Brings Back Moving Memories

Mike Shannon made a successful move to third base in 1967, allowing the Cardinals to insert Roger Maris in right field. The team won 101 games and a world championship.

Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of … (join in studio audience) … “What Planet Am I On.” 

That’s right, this is the column where we search the world over for stories and events that make you wonder if you are still an occupant of this planet, or if you have been transported to another solar system.

Today, we examine the case of disgruntled Boston Red Sox player Rafael Devers. Over the past several seasons, Devers was the team’s regular third baseman. His bat has been middle-of-the-order quality, while his defense has been at the bottom of the heap. That is, he carries a glove the way Yoko Ono carries a tune. For more clarity, reference “errors by American League third basemen” and you’ll find Devers’ name at the top of the list … for the past seven seasons in succession! 

You can’t teach that, folks. Not even to Heity Cruz.

That said, Devers definitely won’t lead third basemen in errors for an eighth consecutive season because the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman over the winter. Like Devers, Bregman is a robust hitter, but he also is the AL’s reigning Gold Glove winner at third base. 

In short, there is no question Boston’s fortunes are best served with Bregman playing defense at third base. 

That being the case, the team inserted Bregman at third and made Devers its designated hitter. But this did not sit well with Devers, who accepted the new assignment while making it clear he has not happy, saying the team told him to “put away his glove.”

Now, the staff here at WPAIO begs to interject at this point and suggest some befuddlement over Dever’s unhappiness. WPAIO points out the Red Sox didn’t say to Devers something like, “If your glove was a horse, they would shoot it”. 

The team didn’t say, “Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran called - he wants his glove back.” They didn’t call a priest to administer last rites before burying his glove six feet under. And they didn’t donate the glove to medical science in hopes of finding a cure.

 No, they simply informed Devers he wouldn’t need that particular mitt this season. Someone more familiar with how the apparatus works, someone who would make the team better, would be handling the chores.

In short, how can you be insulted when the upgrade is so obvious. It’s like Roseanne Barr taking personal offense to Charles Glenn singing the national anthem. Still, Boston and Devers moved on, and he has been a solid hitter this season, batting .273 with 31 RBIs. 

Ahhh, but the plot thickens …

Recently, the Red Sox lost first baseman Triston Casas to a ruptured tendon. At that point, they added the injury problem to the insult by asking Devers to give up his comfy spot in the dugout and play first base. 

His answer was a quick no thanks. "I don't think, for me personally, it's the best decision after they asked me to play a different position,” Devers said through team interpreter Daveson Perez. “And I only had two months playing this position to all of a sudden have me try to play another position. So, from my end, it doesn't seem like a good decision.”

Again, we will interject at this point to participate in this conversation. That is, we might address Devers in this manner:

“Raffy … sweetie … boobalah … We’re not asking you to change positions, we’re asking to assume a position. DH is not a position. Yes, there are mental challenges involved, blah, blah, blah. But there is no tangible learning curve here.

“It’s baseball’s version of the non-competitive marker, a red practice jersey,  a “Get Out Of Playing Defense Free” card. DH is a designation, like the “Fall Risk” sign on a hospital room door. It’s a label to let the public address announcer know that you’re not on his scorecard as playing a position, but it’s OK for you to be in the batting order.

“The main difference between you and the guy in the stands is that you get up to grab a bat four or fives times a game, he grabs a beer.”

That said, It’s not just Devers’ reaction that makes this episode WPAIO worthy, it’s also the conciliatory media comments. Among those to weigh in is former Red Sox star Pedro Martinez. In a Sports Illustrated story, Martinez suggested the Red Sox have “mishandled” the situation and disrespected Devers. 

"If you don’t treat the player, treat the money you’re paying him,” Martinez said. “... Devers does not shy away from working ... Devers is not a guy that talks much, he leads by example.”

For those of you who just spit up your coffee or are choking on your ham sandwich, we’ll give you a moment to absorb that.

Yes Pedro, Devers is quite the worker and truly a leader. That is, he has led the AL in errors by a third baseman for sevenseasons in a row. That’s right, he led the Senior Circuit with 24 errors in 2018 and with a ton of work, still led in 2024. George Kissell would be proud.

 Meanwhile, ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian offered this: “I’m 68 years old … and when a coach, or your parents or a teacher told you what to do, you should do it. When the manager tells you ‘We need you to play first base,’ you have to consider it.”

Kurkjian is a Hall of Fame baseball scribe, and a Hall of Fame person. He was trying to be diplomatic. But try to imagine telling your parents you will “consider” raking the leaves, or telling your teachers you will “consider doing the homework assignment. 

And then there was ESPN co-host Kevin Connors, who came up with this: “I think we can all agree there is a lot of blame to go around here, shouldered by everybody.”

Right, everybody. Let’s start with Bregman - how dare you bring a Gold Glove to Boston and accept the third base position?

Then there’s Red Sox management - how dare you try to improve a defense that led all of MLB with 102 errors last season. How dare you ask Rafael Devers to play first base instead of asking him to be the general manager.

 Have you no respect?

And don't leave out his Boston teammates and fans. Where was the outrage, the protests? Why weren’t you demanding the return of  third base to the right rightful owner, you know, the guy with the .944 career fielding percentage and 141 errors to his name?  

Is he Rodney Dangerfield? Have none of you any respect for this man? Thank God the media gets it.

St. Louisas might have a different perspective. Over the winter, the Cardinals did not re-sign Paul Goldschmidt and instead, asked Wilson Contreras to play first base. A career catcher, Contreras took a slightly different stance than Devers.

“I feel really good about it,” he said. during spring training. “I’m excited for what the future holds.” 

Contreras has made it work. At this writing, he had a couple of errors, a .993 fielding percentage, and a product title bat.

Perhaps you remember the spring of 1970. When third baseman Mike Shannon was diagnosed with a kidney ailment, the Cardinals asked five-time All Star catcher Joe Torre to move to third base. In his own words, Torre had not played third since he was “a fat kid in high school.” 

The Brooklyn native didn’t just “consider” the move, he immediately went on a diet and lost 25 pounds. As the full-time third sacker In 1971 - after relentless work with Kissell - Torre led the league in hitting (.363), hits (230), total bases (352) and RBIs (137) while winning an MVP award. 

Before that was Shannon’s position change in 1967. During the previous winter, the Cardinals traded third baseman Charley Smith to get Roger Maris from the Yankees.

Not the slugger he had been, Maris still was a fine right fielder and overall player. The team already had a good young right fielder in the 26-year old Shannon. But with Maris aboard, with a hole at third, the Cardinals moved Shannon to the “hot corner,” a position that has next-to-no commonality with the outfield.

Shannon was a proud athlete, a multi-sport star at CBC High, a quarterback at Mizzou, an athlete as good as any the area has produced. He had spent five professional seasons in the minor leagues to get here. The chances of him bombing out at third were high. 

In the ‘60s it would not have been justified, defended or tolerated - but Shannon had every reason to cop a Rafael Devers attitude about the whole thing. 

But in April, 1967, when Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst was asked how Shannon was adapting, he said, “Mike will tackle anything and he’ll give it a real try. He’s that kind of a guy.”

You know - the kind of guy Devers is not.

Shannon worked hard and, indeed, made the tackle. With the Maris/Shannon exchange playing an integral role, the ’67 Cardinals won 101 games and beat the Red Sox in the ‘67 World Series.  

Need more?

How about 1946, when rookie first baseman Dick Sisler suffered a hand injury in early June. With a surplus of outfielders, manager Eddie Dyer’s solution was to move Stan Musial to the troubled position. 

Keep in mind Musial had been the National League Most Valuable player in 1943, while leading league outfielders in fielding percentage.

According to a St. Louis Star and Times article, when Dyer approached “The Man” about the switch, Musial replied, “Show me the glove, Skipper, and I’m your man.” Meanwhile, Star and Times columnist Sid Keener asked aloud how Musial might handle the new position, and answered his own question: “He feels right at home,” Keener wrote. “He’s a natural ballplayer.” 

And an unentitled one at that.

The end result, Musial won his second MVP award in ’46, leading the Cardinals to another championship. In the World Series, the new first sacker had 61 putouts, two assists, turned six double plays and committed no errors in 62 innings.

Two seasons later, the Cardinals put Nippy Jones on first base and detransitioned Musial to the outfield. He responded to the “disrespect” by batting .376 with 39 home runs, 230 hits, 131 RBIs, 135 runs, 46 doubles and 18 triples. He missed a Triple Crown by one homer. 

  Perhaps there is one more point to make. Musial was making $13,500 in 1946. Shannon took home $25,000 in 1967, and Torre pulled in $85,000 when he changed gloves in 1970.

The figures seem worth mentioning because, while refusing to get off his butt and play first base, Rafael Devers accepts checks from his employer that will add up to $313 million over 10 years.

Now do you “see both sides?”

And that’ll do it for this time, ladies and gentleman. Thanks for reading along and be sure to join us next time when once again we ask ourselves … “What Planet Am I On.”