Praise has been said to confuse one’s enemy, which might give the Boston Red Sox an advantage over the Kansas City Royals.
Boston has found itself a perpetual arm’s length away from Kansas City over the last couple of months in the American League Wild Card race, but that hasn’t stopped Red Sox superstar Rafael Devers from giving the Royals their flowers.
One player on Kansas City, in particular, stands out to Devers as enticing, and Devers is far from alone in that sentiment.
In a one-on-one interview with ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Monday, Devers revealed that fellow superstar Bobby Witt Jr. is among his favorite players to watch in Major League Baseball.
When Devers was asked about his favorite players by Passan, he mentioned Adrian Beltre and Robinson Cano as two players he feels blessed to have been able to play against. Then the conversation shifted to Witt.
“But with the youth in the league, there are a lot of good baseball players right now,” Devers said, per Passan. “Like Bobby Witt Jr. from Kansas City, he has become one of my favorites. He is a great athlete, it is something … that seeing him play impresses me more than any other player right now.”
Devers was also sure to show love to a few of his former Red Sox teammates.
“Mookie Betts has always been there, too,” Devers said, per Passan. “J.D. (Martinez), Bogie (Xander Bogaerts), whom I played with, has always been one of my favorites, not only as a player but also as a teammate."
No one would disagree with Devers’s take on Witt, who is hitting an otherwordly .413 since the All-Star break.
Of course, Boston is hoping that number experiences a historic crash over the final month of the season.
