MLB Insider Compares Red Sox Devers Trade to ‘Curse of the Bambino’
MLB Insider Compares Red Sox Devers Trade to ‘Curse of the Bambino’ originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Since trading Rafael Devers, the Boston Red Sox have been quickly fading. Their record now stands at 40-42, sinking below .500 and falling 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race. One MLB insider, Hector Gomez, took the time to put it into perspective. Gomez explained that since cutting ties with their star hitter, the Red Sox have gone 3-7, riding a five-game losing streak, and top prospect Marcelo Mayer is hitting just .182. This prompted him to write this summary on X:
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“Has the Devers curse fallen on the Red Sox?”
This references the infamous “Curse of the Bambino,” which plagued the Red Sox after trading Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees after the 1919 season. In the following years, Ruth, who had already started building himself into a legend during the Dead Ball Era, exploded in popularity as soon as the Live Ball Era began the very next year.
Ruth quickly became the face of the league, notching home run records (breaking one that was already set by him with the Red Sox) while hitting for high batting averages. Today, the Big Bambino holds the highest numbers for SLG, OPS, OPS+, and offensive WAR all-time, among other more advanced stats according to Baseball Reference.
San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers (16) hits a two-run home run against the Miami Marlins in the third inning at Oracle Park.Eakin Howard-Imagn Images
As for the Red Sox, the trade seemed to have a lasting effect. Boston would suffer through an 86-year World Series drought that ended in 2004, thus ending the “Curse of the Bambino.”
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Devers, while a great hitter, doesn’t come close to the legend that is Babe Ruth. And since he was the most productive hitter in an otherwise shallow Red Sox offense – that one might add is paired with a questionable pitching staff – it isn’t really a surprise that Boston is fading from the Wild Card picture. Will this be a lasting effect like the Ruth trade? That will be up to Red Sox management.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.