AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS VS RED SOX

October 6, 2021

Rafael Devers

Tropicana Field

Boston Red Sox

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Rafy, you have been in a lot of big games and been in a lot of big moments in your career where you have produced, you have come up, whether it's a walk the other night or, you know, big hits, big home runs. How have you learned to control your emotions when there's so much going on around you and probably inside you as well?

RAFAEL DEVERS: Just try not to make things harder for myself when I'm at the plate. Depending on what the situation is, like, I don't try to force anything. I still maintain my aggressive approach, but when it comes to the at-bat, like, if yesterday when I had that walk and then Bogey hit the home run, just trying to just understand who is in front of me and who is behind me. So it's just, you know, I just try to just stay like that and just that's my approach mainly when I'm out there.

Q. Rafy, how tough is it for the team, last time you were in Tampa the big COVID outbreak was going on, and how worried were you at the time that that was going to kind of hold the team down and threaten to keep you guys out of the playoffs?

RAFAEL DEVERS: We're just thinking about the series right now. Obviously what we dealt with in the past, that was difficult and different, but we turned the page, and we were able to overcome it, and now we're just focused on this series and trying to see who can outlast the other one, and that's it. Pretty much trying to win the ballgames here and do what we can and then go back home. We're really just focused right now on trying to win these ballgames.

Q. How big was it, though, just to overcome that and especially Xander came out that one game in the middle of the game and you lost Chris Sale a few days after that, the way the team responded to that, how big was that looking back on it?

RAFAEL DEVERS: Yeah, like you mentioned, obviously, it was tough. Like, with Bogey coming out and Chris Sale not having a good outing and everything going on with COVID, but the fact that we were able to overcome it just speaks to our team, and that's something that, you know, we look forward to now to just focus on what we're in right now and trying to make the best of the situation right now and trying to win ballgames.

Q. As a team, looking back at last night, did you guys learn anything new about yourself after beating the Yankees in the Wild-Card Game?

RAFAEL DEVERS: No, obviously, like, we just went in there the same way we've always done this season. No one believed in us, and we knew we had a good team going into the spring training, and, you know, we went out there and handled our business. Like, we had a good ballclub from the start. We had a good pitching staff as well. Especially the bullpen, which a lot of people didn't expect to be this good, so we've been able to just overcome challenges whenever there's an injury or anything that we have to deal with, like it was always a next-man-up approach, and guys were hustling. And whenever someone had to step in for somebody else, they handled their role the way that they were supposed to, and that's just how, you know, we were able to just maintain our unity as a team and overcome all the obstacles that we had this season, and that's why we're here today.

Q. Rafy, how much have you talked to J.D. the last couple of days? How much do you feel for him just having that injury and, you know, obviously it's iffy whether he can play in the series.

RAFAEL DEVERS: Yeah, we understand the importance that J.D. brings to not just our lineup, but the entire team overall. Like what he brings to the table. Hopefully we'll be able to have him during the series, but, you know, if not, then obviously we'll have our guys step up and we know what we have to do in order to win ballgames. But obviously, it would be great to have him because he is important, but we'll see.

Q. Rafy, what have you learned from Kyle Schwarber since he has been here? Has he made you a better hitter, and what's the relationship been like with you and Schwarber?

RAFAEL DEVERS: Yeah, he has been really helpful. Obviously, I've had a relationship with him from my past. Like, we've trained here down in Florida, so I've known him for a bit now. But, yeah, you know, like, he is someone that's a great teammate, someone that you can always talk to and whenever he has an at-bat or I have an at-bat we're always sharing tips as to what the pitcher was throwing or what we saw. It's been a real plus to have him on this team. Thank you, guys.