Devers plays in his 163rd game, a first since 2008 -- and homers!
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SAN FRANCISCO -- No one has played in more games this season than Rafael Devers.
Granted, the Giants’ slugger took advantage of a unique set of circumstances to hit a rare mark that hasn’t been reached in 17 years.
Starting at designated hitter and batting third, Devers went 1-for-4 with a solo home run -- his 35th of the season -- in the Giants’ 4-0 win in the regular-season finale against the Rockies at Oracle Park on Sunday, becoming the first player to play 163 games in the regular season since Justin Morneau in 2008.
Morneau logged an extra game after the Twins and White Sox were forced to play a Game 163 tiebreaker, but Devers got there as a result of his midseason trade from the Red Sox to the Giants on June 15.
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Devers saw action in 73 games for Boston before making his Giants debut in San Francisco’s 73rd game of the season, allowing him to become only the 34th player to appear in 163 or more regular-season games since the American League switched to a 162-game schedule in 1961 (the National League would follow suit in 1962).
Postseason spots have been determined by mathematical tiebreakers since 2022, negating the need for a Game 163 tiebreaker and making a midseason trade the only avenue to the feat.
“I’m the type of player that wants to play as many games as I can,” Devers said in Spanish. “Thank God, I had the opportunity to play in each one this season.”
The last player to play in more than 162 games in a single season as a result of a trade was Todd Zeile in 1996. Zeile played 134 games with the Phillies and then 29 more after he was dealt to the Orioles, who played 163 games that season due to a suspended-game tie against the Rangers. (MLB rules at the time recognized stats from a suspended game but still required the matchup to be made up as a separate game on the schedule.)
That Devers realized the unique accomplishment is even more remarkable considering the 28-year-old slugger wasn’t fully healthy when the Giants acquired him on June 15. Devers dealt with a nagging groin injury that initially limited him to DH duties, though he managed to overcome the issue and make his first career appearance at first base on July 22.
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“I like to play every day,” Devers said. “I know there are days when I shouldn’t push my body, but if I feel good, I’m going to be on the field every day.”
The Giants nearly gave Devers a full day off on Aug. 24 at Milwaukee, but he ended up entering the game as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning, which kept the possibility of a 163-game season in play. He hasn’t been out of the starting lineup since.
“He just likes to play baseball,” manager Bob Melvin said. “If you get to know him at all, he’s got a smile on his face every day he’s at the ballpark. It’s what he loves to do. When I talked to him about 163, he was all in for that.”