Red Sox
“He’s probably the most mature 21-year-old in baseball I’ve ever been around in my life.”
Roman Anthony has more than lived up to the hype since making his big-league debut with Boston in June.
The Red Sox star rookie is already matching team records first set by Ted Williams, and is quickly establishing himself as one of the more poised hitters in baseball at just 21 years old.
Anthony made the most of his first game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night.
With Boston holding onto a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth inning, Anthony took a belt-high offering from Yerry De Los Santos and promptly blasted it into the short porch in right field — connecting on a two-run homer that gave his team some much-needed breathing room.
Despite his measured approach at the plate, even Anthony seemed to relish in the rivalry on Thursday — flipping his bat to the side and admiring his moonshot before rounding the bases in the Bronx.
Anthony reached base three times — working a walk in the fifth inning, plating David Hamilton with an RBI single in the sixth, and then slugging his moonshot.
“It’s exciting to be here,’ Anthony said after Boston’s 6-3 win over New York. “I got to play them at home my first week and now that I’m settled in and through that first week — this time around I felt a little more calm, more controlled. … It was awesome, quite the atmosphere. Especially for us. We know the rivalry. It was exciting.”
Even with his limited reps in the big leagues, Anthony’s mature approach at the plate had Alex Cora comparing him to one of the top sluggers in the game earlier this week.
“Who he reminds me of, it’s hard,” Cora said of Anthony when asked by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. “I don’t want to say (Barry) Bonds, of course. Probably (Juan) Soto, without the flashiness, early on. It’s a good at-bat. He’s not going to chase. Even when he doesn’t get hits, you’re like, holy [expletive], that’s a good at-bat.”
As noted by Rosenthal, Anthony was averaging 4.25 pitches per plate appearance entering Thursday’s game against New York, while also boasting a walk rate of 14.6 percent.
Cora’s comparisons to Soto — who signed a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets in December — might be more apt than some might think.
According to former Red Sox media staffer J.P. Long, Anthony has now reached base 102 times in his first 59 career games. The only big leaguer aged 21 or younger (since 2000) to reach base more over their first 59 games was Soto … at 103.
Thursday was largely a frustrating night at Yankee Stadium for Boston, with the Red Sox going just 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position.
But with Anthony at the top of the lineup, Boston is reaping the benefits of having a player whose game is already mature beyond his years.
“He’s probably the most mature 21-year-old in baseball I’ve ever been around in my life,” Alex Bregman said of Anthony postgame. “We’re trying to figure out what he does wrong, honestly. We don’t know if he has any vices or anything. He just does everything the right way. The moment’s never too big for him. He knows who he is. He knows what he does well. And he sticks to that and he executes.”
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