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They are proud. You must start there. In order to play Major League Baseball for any considerable length of time, it’s essential to understand the pride that lines the skin and the soul of the men who populate the game. And especially those who excel at it.

Rafael Devers became a divisive figure in Boston because of his refusal to play first base, and this is largely the reason he is now a San Francisco Giant. Nobody likes it when an athlete says “no.” Our knee-jerk reaction almost always is something to the effect of, “Pay me $10 million, I’ll play wherever you want me to play.” Understood. We are stil

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