Timing means everything in baseball. Pitches and swings alike depend on it. Timing also matters when it comes to what you might see at the ballpark.
Anyone among the crowd of 31,422 fans at Fenway Park attending the Boston Red Sox game Monday night could say they were there in person to watch the debut of No. 1 overall major league prospect Roman Anthony, who had been called up from Triple-A.
Anthony’s own family could not say that. They missed the opportunity to watch his first game in person because Anthony’s promotion came with such short notice. It’s all right, though, because neither Anthony nor the Red Sox played their best in an extra-innings loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Anthony went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and made a meaningful error in right field. Anthony, who turned 21 not even a month ago, could not possibly have been at his best in his debut. He didn’t have a lot of his own equipment—like shoes, most of his bats, or even the right jersey. Hey, was that even the real Roman Anthony out there?
Anyone attending Anthony’s second game in person Tuesday night—including Anthony’s family—turned out to have immaculate timing. The family arrived at Fenway in plenty of time to see Anthony’s first career hit while watching from the owner’s box next to the Red Sox dugout. (Nice move, John Henry.) And their boy came through, with Anthony delivering a two-run double in the first inning, the key hit in a 3-1 victory against the Rays. He also made a slick catch in right field, looking a little like Fred Lynn when he debuted about 50 years ago. And he did it all wearing his own jersey, which had No. 19 on the back, instead of a No. 48 loaner.
Perfect timing, one day later.
Red Sox fans wish that Anthony’s arrival means it’s time for their team to contend for the World Series again. It’s been all of four years since the Red Sox got somewhat close to a championship, and fans get, you know, impatient. The Red Sox haven’t done better than .500 since reaching the ALCS in 2021, and they have a 33-36 record this season. It’s not the kind of outcome many were expecting when the club added left-hander Garrett Crochet and slugger Alex Bregman in the offseason. Up to now, the biggest story of the Red Sox season had been how they couldn’t persuade Rafael Devers to play either of the positions they needed him to.
The Red Sox might have been coasting in the big leagues the past few seasons, but they’ve been doing work on the farm. Boston now has promoted its three top prospects, which also include infielders Kristian Campbell (another one in the top 10 overall) and Marcelo Mayer, who has flirted with a top-10 prospect ranking as well. Anthony and the others arriving changes the calculus for contending—if not now, then soon.
Some scouts and analysts rank Anthony as not only the league’s best prospect, but they think he could be, someday soon, the best player in the league. Even so, no matter how good Anthony is supposed to be, he can’t do it alone. It’s not like basketball, where one great player can change fortunes dramatically, or even a moribund pro football team suddenly adding a franchise quarterback.
The Red Sox roster overall is a jumbled mess. The starting pitching depth, the middle-infield defense, and the bullpen depth are not good enough for them to compete this season. They don’t even have a first baseman.
It would be lovely to say Anthony has arrived and now the Red Sox will contend. But the timing is not quite right for all that.
