After years of hype, Roman Anthony finally made his Boston Red Sox debut on June 9. The game didn't go as the team or fans would've wanted, but the outcome was expected.
Boston lost its series-opening game to the Tampa Bay Rays, 10-8, in 11 innings. The Red Sox went 4-for-28 with runners in scoring position, struck out 12 times, made two errors and multiple other defensive miscues. One of the errors was made by Anthony in right field.
With a runner on first base, Yandy Díaz cracked a hard single on the ground to right field. Anthony attempted to field it from an awkward side angle, but the ball slipped under his glove and rolled back toward the wall. Ceddanne Rafaela eventually corralled it, but the runner on first base scored and Díaz landed on third base. After the game, Anthony addressed his misplay.
"Just can't happen," he said on NESN. "It's one of those plays, I've dealt with that skip a million times in my career and it's tough when you lose a game like that and you feel like that's the reason why you lost, little things like that. So it's tough, but again, you know, just gotta learn from it and be better."
Roman Anthony's response to error in Red Sox debut was mature and composed
“It was awesome. Unfortunate we couldn’t get a win, but it was good experience. Good to just get the first one over with.”
— NESN (@NESN) June 10, 2025
Roman Anthony on making his MLB debut tonight 👏 pic.twitter.com/NUZYn50TQ6
Anthony may have had some first-day jitters on June 9, which is to be expected from any 21-year-old arriving in the big leagues. He went 0-for-4 with an error, but notched his first RBI on a groundout in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Anthony's reaction to his error reflects the maturity for which he's been lauded by reporters and insiders around MLB. He didn't make excuses for his mistake and owned up to it, saying he would learn and be better.
In Anthony's defense, along with it being his first game in the major leagues, he hasn't played much right field in his young career, with just 36 innings of experience there for Worcester this year. The error he made isn't exclusive to right field, but it's easy to get lost in the moment of the big league debut, especially for a No. 1 prospect who's carried the weight of baseball fans' expectations for so long.
Anthony showed in his Red Sox debut that he still has much to learn, but he also showed how mature his mindset already is. Sox fans shouldn't panic about a rough first game in the big leagues. Anthony will settle in soon.