South Florida’s Roman Anthony goes from watching WBC final to leading USA there
Roman Anthony is no stranger to loanDepot park.
Before he became a standout at prep powerhouse Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, before he quickly rose through the minor-league ranks after being a second-round pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2022, before he made his MLB debut and had a resoundingly successful rookie season last year, Anthony got his baseball fix watching games at the home of the Miami Marlins. He watched players like Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich mash baseballs, something he hoped to do like them as an up-and-coming power-hitting outfielder at the time.
Anthony is also no stranger to the World Baseball Classic. He watched the tournament growing up and was even in the stands for the 2023 final between the United States and Japan at loanDepot park as Japan won 3-2 in a thrilling championship game capped by two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani striking out Mike Trout.
“It’s something you dream of,” Anthony said, both of the opportunity to play as a big-leaguer at his hometown ballpark and to represent his country playing the sport he loves.
That dream became reality this year.
And Anthony is a major reason why the United States is back in the World Baseball Classic final for a third consecutive tournament.
Anthony’s fourth-inning home run off Gregory Soto — a 421-foot blast off a middle-middle sinker — gave the USA the lead for good in their 2-1 win over the Dominican Republic on Sunday in front of a sold-out crowd of 36,337 at loanDepot park.
“He’s a special kid,” Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said of Anthony. “To be able to handle the moment, the quality of it, that is a testament to the kind of player he is right now. … I expect big things from him.”
He’s already doing big things.
Anthony, 21, had strong first showing in the big leagues last season, hitting .292 with an .859 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, eight home runs, 32 RBI and 48 runs scored in 71 games. Among 21 rookies with at least 300 plate appearances last season, Anthony ranked first in on-base percentage (.396) and second in OPS.
“Twenty-one years old and totally gets it,” DeRosa said. “Talking to him yesterday, he said something to me that I thought was profound for a young player. He said, ‘The thing I realized is that the data can get you to the Big Leagues; the Trackman data, the exit velos and swing speeds and all that stuff. But if you want to stay and be good in the Big Leagues, you’ve got to find your way on base.’ And to learn that at 21 I think is super impressive. I love his moxie, I love his makeup, quality at-bat. Doesn’t come outside of the zone. Super impressive.”
Impressive enough to get a late invite to be part of a superstar-filled Team USA roster for the World Baseball Classic. He replaced Corbin Carroll, who suffered a right hamate bone fracture early in spring training.
Anthony wholeheartedly admits he didn’t expect to be here this year.
But when DeRosa called him with the opportunity, he said it was “an absolute no-brainer to be here and to represent this country and just to be around these guys.”
Now, he has spent the past two weeks learning from the likes of MLB legends in Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper. He’s actively forcing his name into the conversation of baseball’s wave of young talent rising to the top along with teammates Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr. and Pete Crow-Armstrong.
And he’s playing some pretty good baseball, too.
Anthony enters the final with a .318 batting average (7 for 22), two home runs and a team-leading seven RBI. He is one of four players on the USA roster with multiple home runs through the team’s first six games along with Judge, Henderson and Crow-Armstrong.
“He’s a stud,” Harper said. “He’s so much fun to watch play. Him and Bobby are going to lead the way for this team for a long time. Gunnar Henderson, the same thing. This game is in such a great place with young guys, with so many guys that love the game of baseball. He plays in such a big-market team in Boston. So to be able to have the success in his career this early, it’s been a lot of fun to watch. I can’t say enough about him. He works hard, does everything the right way. He’s been a pro. It’s been a lot of fun to watch and play with him.”
Added Judge: “Roman’s a class act. Just to be 21 years old and to be doing what he’s doing on the biggest stage in baseball every single night. We see him in the cage. He’s watching Bryce. He’s asking questions. He’s watching Bobby. I think that’s such a cool thing to see, at such a young age to ask questions, to be observant like that, and just trying to get better. So the Red Sox definitely have a good one in him.”
And for one more game in this World Baseball Classic, the United States has a good one in Roman Anthony.
“Everyone here wants to win,” Anthony said. “We have a standard here. We expect to win, and I think everyone has been super onboard with that, and it’s been fun to just watch the way that everyone works.”
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