Red Sox officials, while hiding themselves, want Rafael Devers to be vocal.
It’s apparently time for us to talk about Rafael Devers’ leadership capabilities again. Speaking to the media at Fenway Fest, which Devers did not attend, Alex Cora said the team wants Devers to get out of his comfort zone a little bit, noting that Devers still feels uneasy addressing the media in his second language.
Cora’s comments come amidst reports from MassLive’s Chris Cotillo that “team officials have expressed a desire to push Devers to do more front-facing outreach when it comes to things like fan interaction, promotional appearances and marketing opportunities in an effort to brand him as the face of the franchise.”
I have already said my piece on the manufactured controversy about whether Devers does or does not field questions after tough losses. There is no need to go over that again. But I cannot let this latest story pass without reminding everyone of something that seems pretty damn relevant to this conversation: John Henry has not taken questions from the assembled Boston media in 1,794 days.
And, to shovel an extra layer of irony on top of a situation that is already damn near an O. Henry story as read aloud by Alanis Morissette, let’s further remind everyone that these comments came during the Red Sox winter fan festival, which team officials have radically reprogrammed in an apparent effort to shield team officials from fan criticism.
My, god, 1,794 days is a lot of days! Since Henry last took questions, the Red Sox have fired their manager, finished in last place, re-hired a previously fired manager, sold 10% of the team to a private investment firm in a deal that took Henry’s ownership below the 50% mark, made one shocking run to the ALCS, finished in last place again, allowed one of the best shortstops in team history to leave via free agency, made Corey Kluber the opening day starter, finished in last place again, fired the CBO, hired a new CBO, traded away an eventual Cy Young-winner, produced a Netflix documentary about the team, finished .500, reduced payroll by approximately $90 million, and raised ticket prices four times.
John Henry has addressed none of this.
It is not Rafael Devers’ job to perform “front-facing outreach.” It is Rafael Devers’ job to mash home runs, and he does it. What is John Henry’s job?