Red Sox hero Ceddanne Rafaela gives biggest defender ‘goosebumps’ with walkoff HR

BOSTON — Cezan Rafaela Jr., the older brother of Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, tweeted a gas pump emoji and fire emoji a couple of hours before Boston’s game Friday.

“More fuel to the fire,” Cezan wrote in the tweet, which was in regard to his brother being snubbed for the AL All-Star team when Randy Arozarena instead got selected to replace Julio Rodríguez.

Cezan then returned to X, formerly known as Twitter, when the Red Sox won 5-4 over the Rays here at Fenway Park.

“Literally goosebumps,” he wrote moments after his brother’s 406-foot two-run walkoff homer over the Green Monster.

“When I’m playing, his TV is on,” Ceddanne said before Friday’s game. “He’s always paying attention to the game, knowing everything that is happening (with the Red Sox).”

Ceddanne scrolled through his text messages after the walkoff win. He said his wife was the first one to message him. But Cezan’s text wasn’t far behind.

Asked what the text message said, the 24-year-old Ceddanne smiled and paused for a minute. It looked like he was about to read it, then he replied with a smirk, “I can’t tell you.”

Ceddanne is well aware that Cezan has been his most ardent defender since he broke into the majors in 2023. Cezan furiously fires back at over-critical fans on social media who get on his brother for things like swinging at pitches out of the strike zone.

Cezan will call out anyone. When the official MLB X account released a Gold Glove prediction list June 24 with no mention of his brother, Cezan replied, “Just disrespectful.”

“He tells me sometimes but I try to tell him to keep it to him — what he does. Don’t tell me,” Ceddanne said, smiling. “Because I really don’t pay attention. But I really appreciate the love he gives me every day and the support.”

Section 10 Podcast host Jared Carrabis wrote on X after Thursday’s win when Rafaela also had a go-ahead RBI hit late, “I hope @cezanjr is somewhere talking all the (expletive) in the world.”

Ceddanne is the middle child. He also has a younger sister. He said Cezan — who played baseball at North Central Missouri College — has been watching and supporting him forever. Now 30, Cezan lives back in Curacao and visits the U.S. once or twice a summer to watch his brother.

“Before I signed, he was always there,” Ceddanne said. “He’s been a really good support for me.”

Ceddanne added that his brother is a big baseball fan in general.

“It’s not only me,” he said. “He loves watching baseball. He knows everything.”

Unlike Cezan, Ceddanne said he doesn’t pay attention to the noise on social media.

“I’m the type of player that doesn’t really read (anything) or search for (anything),” he said. “I’m just trying to play ball. And when I go home, enjoy my kids, my wife.”

Rafaela entered Friday batting .328 with a .362 on-base percentage, .642 slugging percentage, 1.003 OPS, 10 homers, 12 doubles, 24 RBIs and 23 runs in 37 games since May 28. He went 2-for-4, including an RBI single in the second inning to tie the game 1-1.

“I feel he’s been one of the best players in baseball over the last month and a half, two months, doing it in every phase of the game,” teammate Alex Bregman said.

Rafaela also entered Friday with 14 defensive runs saved in 757 ⅔ innings in center field.

He made the 2024 Opening Day roster as an unfinished product at 23 years old. He needed to complete his development in the majors.

“Not every player is going to come in and do what they’re capable of,” Rafaela said. “If you really want to be better and want to win and want to help the team, it’s a process. Some players don’t know it’s a process. And I think last year, that player was me. I wasn’t really trusting the process.”

Manager Alex Cora said Rafaela wasn’t catching up with fastballs during his rookie season.

“I talked to him toward the end of the season,” Cora said. “I was like … ‘We need to get your hands tighter.’ He worked on it. … He’s able to catch up with the fastball now. He’s a good breaking ball hitter. He likes this stuff. … It’s about winning. He wants that environment tonight in October.”

Rafaela’s mother Recheline Rafaela — who was a talented softball player — was always a Red Sox fan. Rafaela followed suit.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment since I’ve been watching games with my mom in 2004, ‘05, ‘06, ’07 — to play in this atmosphere,” said Rafaela, who used the word “awesome” to describe the crowd’s energy Friday. “When I hit that home run, I was thinking about my mom, my wife back home and this team. It was a special day.”

Rafaela — who has a seven-game RBI streak — has more veterans like Bregman around him this season to help him understand the process.

“It’s a lot about the process. If I trust the process, I’m going to be where I want to be at the end of the season.”