Red Sox fans will love Roman Anthony’s comments on the Yankees rivalry

Rookie sensation Roman Anthony only played seven games against the New York Yankees in his debut season with the Boston Red Sox, though he made the loudest statement of his young career in a late August contest.

That home run was one of eight en route to Anthony's brilliant .292/.396/.463 (140 wRC+) slash line as a rookie. Though an oblique injury knocked him out for the last month of the regular season and the Red Sox's short-lived playoff run, it's clear that the outfielder is well on pace to live up to his gaudy contract extension.

But beyond just performing like a star, to be a face of Boston sports, you must perform against the Yankees. From David Ortiz to Rafael Devers, the Red Sox have had many Yankee killers in recent years.

Though Anthony has a long way to go to live up to the lofty standard those stars of yore set, the 21-year-old phenom is clearly ready to take center stage in baseball's best and oldest rivalry.

Roman Anthony prepared to emerge as the Red Sox's next great Yankee killer

"The most fun I've had playing baseball in a while was in the Bronx," Anthony said. "That rivalry — I got to experience it and saw how insane it was. It's one of those series that you kind of look at on the calendar and you're just kind of waiting for it. It's just a really fun place to play, and [that home run] was definitely a special moment for me."

Anthony only went 4-for-22 in his limited exposure against the Evil Empire, but the man affectionately known by some as the "Roman Empire" is sure to draw plenty of opportunities going forward.

That's especially true if, as the Red Sox have reported, Anthony is healthy and fully recovered from his oblique injury. The young outfielder has drawn 490+ plate appearances over each of the past three seasons (between the major and minor leagues), so there's no long-term injury concerns to worry about at the moment.

And, so long as his health holds up, there's plenty of reason for optimism that baseball's former No. 1 overall prospect will continue to build on his historically efficient rookie season. Had he had enough at-bats to qualify in 2025, Anthony's 140 wRC+ would have ranked tied for ninth in all of MLB. For reference, Pete Alonso (141 wRC+) ranked eighth and Freddie Freeman (139 wRC+) ranked 10th. Not bad company to keep.

The Yankees and Red Sox both figure to be highly competitive yet again in 2026. Their rivalry is alive and well, and, if Anthony has anything to say about it, should feature plenty of memorable moments in the years ahead.