Ceddanne Chipper Nicasio Marte Rafaela (born September 18, 2000) is a Curaçaoan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Career

Rafaela participated in the

2012 Little League World Series The 2012 Little League World Series started in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on August 16 and ended on August 26. Eight teams from the United States and eight from throughout the world competed in the 66th edition of the Little League World Se ...

as a member of the

Willemstad Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...

team representing the Caribbean Region. He signed with the

as an international free agent in July 2017, receiving a $10,000 bonus. Rafaela made his professional debut in 2018 with the

Dominican Summer League Red Sox The Dominican Summer League Red Sox, often called the DSL Red Sox, are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball, playing in the foreign Dominican Summer League. The team, classed as a Rookie League franchise, ...

. In 2019, he played for the

Gulf Coast Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior t ...

, batting .248/.330/.425, and

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major Leagu ...

, batting .182/.167/.182. Rafaela did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2021, he played for the

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, Virginia, Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Car ...

, batting .251/.305/.424. He started 2022 with the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

before being promoted to the

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

. Rafaela was selected to the 2022

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

. For the season, Rafaela was named minor-league Defensive Player of the Year by the Red Sox. On November 15, Rafaela was added to Boston's

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. In early 2023, Rafaela was ranked the 71st best prospect by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' list and the 53rd best prospect by

Fangraphs FanGraphs.com is a website run by Fangraphs Inc., located in Arlington, Virginia, and created and owned by David Appelman that provides statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. On September 18, 2009, Fangraphs Inc. launched ...

. Before the season, the Red Sox sent Rafaela back to Double-A Portland so he could work on his hitting. On May 13, Rafaela set a Sea Dogs record after stealing six bases in a game against the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American professional Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League (EL), known as the Double-A Nort ...

; he was initially credited with seven steals but had one taken away due to defensive indifference. Rafaela was promoted to the Triple-A

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawtucket Red Sox. Th ...

on June 28. On August 28, he was added to Boston's major-league roster. He made his MLB debut that evening, hitting a single in his first

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

. On September 12, in the second game of the doubleheader against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, Rafaela hit his first major-league home run, estimated at 400 feet, off

Carlos Rodón Carlos Antonio Rodón (born December 10, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played MLB for the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants. Rodón is a two- ...

. In September, Rafaela was recognized as the Red Sox' minor-league baserunner of the year for 2023. In 2023 with the Red Sox, he had a

slash line This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

of .241/.281/.386. Rafaela began 2024 with Boston, hitting a triple on

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

. On April 8, he signed an eight-year, $50 million contract extension with the Red Sox, lasting through the 2031 season with a team option for 2032. On July 5, Rafaela hit a two-run home run in the top of the tenth inning to help secure a 5–3 win for the Red Sox against the Yankees in his first game at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

. In 2024, he batted .246/.274/.390 with 15 home runs and 75 RBIs. He walked in 2.6% of plate appearances, the lowest percentage in the majors. He struck out in 26.4 percent of trips to the plate, 21st highest. In 2025, Rafaela started his second straight Opening Day in center field for Boston. He won the MLB Play of the Week for a catch in deep center field off the bat of

Josh Jung Joshua Ryne Jung (; born February 12, 1998) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and was drafted by the Rangers in t ...

on May 8. On June 4, Rafaela hit the shortest home run by a Red Sox player since Statcast started tracking them in 2015, a walk-off 308-foot home run against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

in an 11–9 victory. That home run, which landed near the Pesky Pole at Fenway Park, was recorded as the shortest walk-off homer by any MLB player in the Statcast era.

Personal life

Rafaela's mother gave him his middle name, "Chipper", because she was a fan of

Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the first overall p ...

of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. Both his parents, like Jones, played third base, his mother on competitive

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

teams and his father in

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André 3000 (credited as And ...

baseball. He has an older brother. His wife and parents flew to Seattle to watch him play on Opening Day in 2024. Rafaela speaks English, Dutch, Spanish, and

Papiamento Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; ) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao ( ABC Islands). The language, spelled in Aruba and in Bonaire and ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafaela, Ceddanne 2000 births Living people Baseball players from Willemstad Boston Red Sox players Criollos de Caguas players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Curaçao expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Red Sox players Greenville Drive players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Lowell Spinners players Major League Baseball utility players Major League Baseball players from Curaçao Portland Sea Dogs players Salem Red Sox players Worcester Red Sox players Dutch people of Curaçao descent