Rafael Devers hears boos, homers in return to Fenway Park

San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rafael Devers hears boos, homers in return to Fenway Park

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Aug 21, 2026 9:53 PM ET

San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers made his first return to Fenway Park as a visiting player on Friday night, and it produced some mixed results for him. When he was introduced in his first at-bat, he heard a mix of cheers and boos from the Boston Red Sox fans, but the boos seemed to be winning out.

He silenced all of that in his second at-bat when he clubbed his 26th home run of the season to straight-away center field.

Rafael Devers homers in his return to Fenway Park

Devers spent the first nine years of his career as a member of the Red Sox and was a wildly successful player. He played a major role on their 2018 World Series team and hit 215 home runs with the team.

Here is a look at his home run in his return to Fenway on Friday.

DEVERS DELIVERS IN HIS RETURN TO FENWAY pic.twitter.com/wLB3wMKHwO
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 22, 2026

The relationship between him and the Red Sox started to sour early in the 2025 season when they signed Alex Bregman in free agency, bumping Devers off of his third base position.

When the Red Sox later asked him to play first base, he refused.

It was not long after that they traded him to the Giants, where he eventually started playing first base anyway. The Red Sox then lost Bregman after the 2025 season when he opted out of his contract and signed with the Chicago Cubs.

While the Giants got the better player in the trade, the Red Sox have had more team success, still making the playoffs in 2025 and positioning themselves to get back there this season.

The Giants are one of the worst teams in the National League, even with Devers owning an OPS+ of 121 entering Friday's game.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on X @AGretz

More must-reads: