The Next Boston Sports Legend is Here
A new era of Boston greatness is dawning on the sports world. Each team has reinvented itself, at least partially, from the championships of recent vintage. Plus, reinvention, more often than not, is best with homegrown talent. Building a one-off championship team through acquisition is undoubtedly gratifying, but to have a homegrown star helm an era of winning, en route to a title or two, is so special. As the Red Sox begin Spring Training, looking towards a season of unknowns, there is at least one thing, one guy, for the team and its fans to hang their hat on: Roman Anthony.
Outfielder Anthony offered the first glimpse of what he can do after being called up last season. In 303 plate appearances, the 21-year-old, thought of as baseball’s best prospect, hit .292 and offered 3.1 WAR. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, likely placing higher if not for his abbreviated season of just 71 games. His talent offered an injection of life into the Sox world that was stunned by the trade of Rafael Devers. Plus, of course, that life extended beyond any stat sheet.
Anthony’s first home run at Yankee Stadium, late August 2025, was a sight to see. After crushing a no-doubter to right field, he watched it soar, rare for the often humble youngster, and flipped his bat to the side. It was a cold flip, sophisticated bravado in the home of his team’s greatest rival. Cinematic, even, like a mercenary taking apart his gun after eliminating the enemy. Every great, every player that becomes representative of a team and city seems to have a moment that shoots them towards icon status. A display of power, power referring to both the tangible sports skill and the intangible weight of stardom. Jayson Tatum dunked on LeBron James early in his career, confirming that he was a generational Celtic. Just this past year, young quarterback Drake Maye delivered a season full of power displays for the Patriots; a standout may be the 31-yard dime he dropped against the Buffalo Bills. These are players who have quickly become legendary for Boston. Fans eagerly anticipated their ascents, as they did with Anthony. We’ve got our guy, the saying might go, meaning not just a star for today, but a star for hopefully a long time, which isn’t easy to have.
In the age of the internet, of unprecedented access, and of the wider gig economy, players feel like they function as freelancers. Go where the work is, go where the money is, go where the imminent championship ring is. That’s not to fault the players at all; they are beholden to vast and complicated systems of sports bureaucracy. Highlighting that culture, though, is just to suggest that it is all the more important when an athlete feels a part of a city. It forges a sense of identity that is arguably as compelling as a winning record or playoff victories. The road ahead for Roman Anthony is long. He is returning from an oblique strain that sidelined him for the end of the 2025 season. While an oblique strain is not the end of the world, a player’s performance post any injury is worth questioning. As for the team, they are not quite World Series contenders, seeming on paper to be a few moves short of the top-tier MLB teams. And there is a fear of asking too much too fast from a year two outfielder. Yet, it remains true that this is one of the biggest bastions of hope that the Red Sox have had in a few years, with regard to the long-term future. Roman Anthony seems poised to take that hope, use it to fuel more great baseball, bat flips and all, and ascend to that class of players who achieve Boston immortality.
