Rafael Devers' 30th home run of the 2025 season was certainly one to remember.
On Sept. 2, San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers hit a history-making home run.
In the top of the first inning against the Colorado Rockies, Devers launched his 30th home run of the year, a two-run shot to right field, and began trotting to first base when Colorado Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland took exception to how long Devers was taking to trot as the two jawed at each other, leading to a bench-clearing battle between the two clubs.
As a result of the fighting, Devers’ trot around the bases took nearly nine minutes; giving Jayson Stark, senior MLB Writer for The Athletic, reason to put it in his “MLB’s Strange But True 2025: The plays, moments and stuff we couldn’t believe” list.
“Ever heard of an 8-minute, 52-second home run trot? Speaking of Devers, he actually had one of those on Sept. 2, thanks to a wild, mid-trot, bench-clearing brouhaha instigated by the pitcher who allowed that epic first-inning home run, the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland,” Stark wrote.
“It was Devers’ 16th homer since his trade to the Giants. That “trot” trot took almost two minutes longer than the other 15 combined.”
MLB.com reported that the incident made it the longest home run trot ever. Additionally, two of Devers’ teammates were ejected from the game in the conflict, making for an even weirder situation Stark highlights afterward.
“Willy Adames and Matt Chapman got ejected from that game before Devers could even finish his home run trot, and that introduced even more chaos into this fracas,” he wrote. “Devers, you see, was only the second batter of the game. So, thanks to those ejections, it meant the Giants got zero plate appearances that night from the two guys who were penciled into the 3 and 4 holes in the lineup.”
“Plus, it meant that by the time the Giants took the field in the first inning, they ran an infield out there where literally nobody on the lineup card was playing the position they were supposed to play. Want to take a stab at how many games in the last half-century have featured any of that? Right you are. That would be none.”
After opening with an unprecedented event, the Giants won, 7-4. Afterward, Devers talked to MLB.com about the incident.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Devers said in Spanish. “I didn’t do anything different from when I hit a home run. I don’t know why it bothered him.”
Freeland, meanwhile, explained why he found Devers to be disrespectful.
“I found it extremely disrespectful to show me up like that in the first inning -- after hitting the home run, standing there watching it, taking your sweet time getting down to first base,” Freeland said.
“I’ve been in this league for quite some time. I know he has as well. I just find that extremely disrespectful and felt that I needed to let him know about that.”