FLUSHING, NY — Giants infield coach Ron Washington, a known baseball lifer, has played with and coached the best of the best and even he is blown away from what Dominican Rafael Devers can do.
“I’ve been watching Devers for eight years as an opponent, and it’s really pleasant to be on the same field and in the same dugout with him because he comes every day,” Washington said over the weekend as San Francisco dropped two of three in Queens to the Mets. “He puts his work in. He puts his time in and the results show up on the scoreboard.
It seems like every night, he gets the ball over the fence and I guess at some point, you gotta say ‘he’s legit.’”
This was before the 29-year-old of Sanchez, Dominican Republic smashed two home runs against the Mets Saturday afternoon, which marked three HRs in the series for Devers, five home runs in his last five games and six over his last eight.
Deeper Devers Dive
The beginning of 2026 wasn’t the best for Devers, but that didn’t deter the three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger from ditching his hitting process. Already with 16 home runs in the second half of the year and an OPS of .981, the left-handed hitting slugger had a .799 OPS prior to the All Star break with 19 home runs.
His August and September with 13 home runs to put him at 35 on the year showed why the Red Sox shelled out the big bucks to Devers with that 11-year/$331 million deal in January of 2023.
The same as he did in a Red Sox uniform and now with the Giants, Rafael Devers has remained the same Rafael Devers at the plate, ranking up as one of the top home run hitters in the game each season – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
“I’ve been doing the same thing like I have said before. We have good times, bad times, but we’re over here to improve ourselves,” Devers said through an interceptor after his performance Saturday with two home runs.
At this point, he could be on his way to the first 40 home run season of his career, currently three away from tying his career high of 38 in 2021. It would also be Devers’ fifth season of reaching 100 RBI or more as he currently sits at 91—2025 (109), 2023 (100), 2021 (113), and 2019 (115).
“I really don’t pay attention to my numbers,” he said. “I just come over here, show up every day just to work every single day.”
On the other side of the diamond with his glove, Devers has taken some massive strides with Washington defensively at firse base—a position he is still adjusting to day by day.
“He’s working his butt off, trying to get better, trying to learn the nuances of first base,” Washington noted of Devers minutes after the two took part in a pregame fielding drill. “And as the year has gone along, he’s gotten better, and he’s working at it every single day. That’s all you can ask for, for him to develop work ethic and do the maintenance.”
Washington’s Story
Washington, 74, the perfect individual and coaching mentor to help Devers like he has done so for countless MLB stars throughout his career, is thrilled to be with the Giants and work with players like Devers at this stage of his life.
The manager of the Angels in 2025 and 2024, Washington has been in baseball for over 40 years—starting in 1977 with 12 years as a player then spending the past 30 as a coach/manager.
“I’m feeling great, I really am,” he said. “I don’t feel no change in the way I go about my business, and I’m here for one thing—to help.”
Ron Washington told Latino Sports over the weekend that the highlight of his coaching career was helping the Braves capture the 2021 World Series title, beating the Astros in six games – Image Credit: Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
The highlight of Washington’s coaching career was his lone World Series victory as the infield coach of the Braves in 2021. And that was extra sweet for Washington after coming one win away with the Rangers as their manager in 2011—a historic Fall Classic where the Cardinals beat Texas in seven games.
Washington, managing the Rangers from 2007-2014, reflected on the World Series ring with Atlanta and confirmed it was the highlight of his coaching career which started in 1996 with the Athletics.
“Yes. It was because that year we weren’t as good as we wanted to be in the beginning, but we kept working all year,” he said. “And then finally at the end of July, we hit our stride, and our stride took us through the playoffs and into the World Series.”
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