By Jack Loder
When the Giants suddenly announced on Sunday that Rafael Devers would be going on a season ending IL stint with a core muscle injury, it abruptly ended one of the best, and most interesting, individual seasons by a Giants hitter this century. But it’s not just about the numbers. Devers underwent something of an image renaissance during the second half of the season, one that coincided with his monster numbers but also with the gradual departure of nearly all his veteran teammates due to trade or injury.
Imagine being told in mid-June that Rafael Devers would win the Giants’ prestigious Willie Mac Award at the conclusion of the season. The suggestion wouldn’t have just been doubted, it would have been laughed at. Assumed sarcasm. Snickered as a cheap joke that highlighted the nightmarish season the Giants were enduring, both on and off the field. But that was June.
The Giants had just returned from one of many brutal road trips, this particular one highlighted by a particularly embarrassing moment in Miami in which Devers infamously waved off a pinch runner, appearing to shoo towards Tony Vitello before accepting his replacement and sulking into the dugout. It was a PR black eye, one that was shoddily brushed aside by Buster Posey and Devers himself as a misunderstanding. It was fair to assess at that point that Devers was a less than active clubhouse participant, or at least that he didn’t completely respect his manager.
And at that point, Devers didn’t have the best reputation as a teammate. His very public standoff with the Red Sox brass preceded his arrival in San Francisco. A brutally slow start to the 2026 season didn’t help. Even though most logical fans know he isn’t the reason the Giants have been so bad exactly in lockstep of the timeline since his acquisition, the cruel irony of that fact is hard to ignore.
Things haven’t gotten better for the team this season, but they have for Devers, on and off the field. He has at first quietly, and recently quite loudly, put together one of the best offensive seasons in the franchise’s modern history. A sizzling July and August preceded a two week tear to begin September. In the 18 games leading up to Sunday, Devers blasted 11 homers and put up a gargantuan 1.403 OPS. His season statistics, including that anemic April, finish at 37 home runs, 98 RBI, and an .865 OPS. Since the first week or so of May, only a very small handful of hitters in MLB have been better than Devers.
It seemed as though with each passing homer, a young player in the lineup in place of a traded or injured veteran would speak up, usually unprompted, about the mentorship of Rafael Devers. The SF Standard’s John Shea reported on it in August, and expanded in an interview on KNBR.
“He’s been somewhat of a mentor believe it or not,” Shea said to John Lund. “He’s kind of gone out of his way to be by these young guys’ side.”
During a timeframe in which he has spoken with the media maybe twice, his image as a teammate and mentor have blossomed.
Bryce Eldridge, Drew Gilbert, and a handful of others have confirmed that report in various ways. With his apparent clubhouse popularity, and his incredible production at the plate, would it make sense that Devers be awarded the Willie Mac Award next Friday night? It’s certainly possible, if not likely. Unless the Giants decide to give it to Mike Krukow, a decision that exactly zero fans would object to. If it must be given to a player, it can be soundly argued that Rafael Devers should be the recipient. The bizarre cherry on top of a wild Giants campaign.
