Mookie Betts was greeted by standing ovations the two times he returned to Fenway Park since being traded to the Dodgers.
The same is true when Chris Sale comes to town with the Braves or Xander Bogaerts with the Padres. Nate Eovaldi, too.
The members of the 2018 World Series champions who are still in uniform always get welcomed by the fans.
The old cliché that you’ll never have to pay for a drink in Boston after you win a championship is true. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts likes to tell the story of ordering a glass of wine at the team hotel a few years ago, and the bartender telling him it was taken care of by some people across the room.
Boston remembers its athletic heroes. We celebrate them.
That largesse will be tested on Friday when Rafael Devers returns to Fenway for the first time since he was traded to the Giants 14 months ago.
Betts, Bogaerts, Sale, and the rest all left for various reasons. Some were traded, others found better opportunities or better contracts elsewhere. It wasn’t personal; it was strictly business.
With Devers, his departure was entirely personal.
He was angry when the Sox signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman in the early days of spring training last season and pouted about it until finally agreeing to be the designated hitter just before Opening Day.
When first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury on May 2, Devers was an obvious choice to take over that position. He refused.
A week later, principal owner John Henry (who also owns the Globe) flew to Kansas City to ask Devers in person to play first base. He declined again. Devers was then traded on June 15 for what amounted to a poor return because the Giants took on the remainder of his contract.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said at the time that trading Devers was a result of his desire for a better atmosphere around the team.
“As we think about the identity and the culture and the environment that is created by great teams, there was something amiss here,” Breslow said.
Four days later, when the Red Sox played the Giants in San Francisco, Devers took ground balls at first base before the game. He’s now the team’s first baseman, and actually not too bad there.
But little else has changed for him.
Devers is the same sour presence with the Giants that he became with the Red Sox. He embarrassed rookie manager Tony Vitello in June by trying to send a pinch runner back to the dugout, wagging his finger at Vitello like he was scolding a small child.
Devers then blamed the media for how they reported the incident.
The Giants actively shopped Devers before the trade deadline but could not find a taker for a contract that is now one of the worst in the majors.
Devers is signed through 2033 at an average of $32.1 million a year. This for a player who hasn’t been an All-Star since 2024 and turns 30 in October.
He is hitting .244 with a .788 OPS this season. His 25 home runs and 31 doubles lead the team, as do his 141 strikeouts.
The Red Sox are 120-96 since trading Devers and are again headed for the postseason. The Giants are 92-125. At 52-75, they have the second-worst record in the National League this season.
Devers was the goofy little brother of the 2018 team, a 21-year-old with a big smile and a bigger swing. He started four of the five games in the World Series and was on the field when Sale struck out Manny Machado for the final out.
Devers left the Sox with a career .859 OPS and 215 home runs, 10th in team history. That’s more than any World Series-winning player outside of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.
If the Giants stay with the lineup they’ve been using recently, Devers will bat second on Friday night against Sonny Gray. It will be interesting to see how he is received by the crowd, or if he tips his cap.
My guess? Flags fly forever, and Devers gets cheered. Then the cheers will get louder if Gray sets him down.
Fans can forgive, but they never forget.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.