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Alex Rodriguez likens Roman Anthony to MLB legends amid strong WBC
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- Alex Rodriguez likens Roman Anthony to MLB legends amid strong WBC
Roman Anthony wasn’t even originally supposed to play in the World Baseball Classic .
But the Red Sox star has taken the tournament by storm .
The latest example came in Team USA’s semifinal against the Dominican Republic when Anthony hit what ended up being the game-winning home run in the fourth inning to send USA to the WBC championship.
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Anthony has only played in 71 MLB games after being called up to Boston last summer. But he’s caught the attention of legends like David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez , the latter of which put Anthony among some star-studded MLB names when discusisng Anthony.
“When you see a kid like that, whether it’s Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams or Derek Jeter or Big Papi, there are some people that just have the ‘It Factor’,” Rodriguez said after the win on FOX . “That kid has the looks, the humility, the size, the power.”
Ortiz added his own sentiments : “That kid is a student of the game. We are so proud to have him in our organization, and it’s because he does nothing but get better and better and better. This is a kid who came into the league last year, he got injured, and watching his team during the playoffs, and not being able to perform and be with them? That was killing him. I can see it in his face. Glad that he’s healthy this year. He put on a show tonight.”
Anthony’s rookie season ended early due to an oblique injury, but he came into spring training fully healthy and ready to go.
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There were rumors that Anthony was going to play for Team Italy this year. He initially thought the WBC was out of the question so he could focus on the 2026 season ahead after coming off his injury.
But then Team USA needed an injury replacement and it was Anthony who got the call.
In six games, Anthony is slashing .318/.423/.591 with two home runs and a team-best seven RBI in six games.
“He’s very, very special,” Rodriguez said.
The 21-year-old will now try to lift Team USA to a World Baseball Classic championship win on Tuesday at 8 p.m.. The Americans will play either Venezuela or Italy.
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