The rise of Roman Anthony: Inside Red Sox phenom’s climb toward superstardom

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The rise of Roman Anthony: Inside Red Sox phenom’s climb toward superstardom

Chris Mason · MassLive

Thu, Apr 2, 2026 ·

15 min read

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — Sitting at a sun-splashed picnic table outside the home clubhouse at JetBlue Park, Roman Anthony looks at ease in a backwards Boston Red Sox hat.

While many teammates packed a bus for the two-hour trip to Bradenton, Anthony has already earned veteran status in Grapefruit League play and had the afternoon off. His manager trusts him.

Fresh off his debut in the World Baseball Classic, Anthony made the all-tournament team as the youngest player on Team USA. The outfielder has already emerged as a dark horse pick for AL MVP. His three months in the majors last summer were that good. He's signed an eight-year extension worth at least $130 million and there's a Lamborghini parked in his driveway.

At 21 years old, Anthony's life looks pretty good.

But with the late morning heat beginning to rise, there is still one memory that breaks Anthony's tranquility: July 17, 2022. The first round of his MLB Draft.

"You remember everything," Anthony says.

The competitor

Anthony's stock should have been white-hot following his senior year of high school.

At Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, he helped lift the Eagles to back-to-back 7A state championships. Anthony batted .520 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs as a leadoff hitter in 2022.

A proven winner with video game numbers, Anthony was named Gatorade Florida Player of the Year.

It still wasn't good enough to hear his name called in the first round. Scouts were leery of some of the whiffs and worried about whether his power profile would transfer to higher levels.

Every team passed on Anthony. The Red Sox drafted Mikey Romero, a high school shortstop from California, with pick No. 24 overall.

Agents and scouts had tried to prepare Anthony and his father, Tony, for this possibility. The draft could be unpredictable, they were told, and with signing bonuses, there's a lot of strategy at play. That was little solace for Anthony, who believed he'd earned the right to go higher in the draft.

"Once I fell out of the first round and saw some of the guys who I had played against (selected), I took it personal," Anthony said.

Normally measured, Anthony was aggravated. He told his father to call his agents and get him removed from the remainder of the draft. If he wasn't worthy of a first-round pick, he was going to Ole Miss, where he'd committed to play college baseball. That was that.

The Red Sox implored Anthony to stay patient. Though they selected Cutter Coffey at No. 41 early in the second round — another high school shortstop from California like Romero — Boston liked Anthony and could still pay him first-round money.

But Anthony had made his mind up.

"He just basically said, 'Dad, I'm going to Ole Miss. I'm going to be an All-American, and I'll come out and I'll make a lot more money than this draft is offering me,'" Tony Anthony said.

Undeterred, Boston still chose Anthony at No. 79, a late second-round comp pick they'd been awarded following Eduardo Rodriguez 's departure.

When Anthony's name was finally called, five other Florida high schoolers had been drafted before him.

"It burned inside of him," Tony Anthony said.

Boston offered Anthony an over-slot signing bonus of $2.5 million, but he still wasn't sold. First-round money doesn't make a player a first-round pick.

Prior to the draft, Anthony had developed a friendship with Eric Hosmer , as the two had played for the same high school coach, Todd Fitz-Gerald. The Royals All-Star was taken at No. 3 overall in 2008 and understood Anthony's situation better than most. He urged Anthony to sign with the Red Sox. A bruised ego wasn't worth the potential regret.

All-Stars, agents, and executives all weighed in. But ultimately, it was Lori Anthony who convinced her son to sign, according to Tony Anthony. She had been deferential early in the process, but now it was time to put her foot down. He said that while they didn't need the money, she believed the message it sent was an important one.

"You're taking the money for two reasons," she told her son. "Number one, if they're going to pay you that much money, they're going to be invested in you... and secondly, spring training is right over in Fort Myers."

Still reluctant, Anthony swallowed his pride and trusted his mother's guidance.

"It was the best move he ever made," Tony Anthony said.

But the young outfielder didn't forget that gut-wrenching feeling.

Anthony wasn't Boston's first superstar driven by disrespect on draft day.

Falling to pick No. 199 in 2000 motivated Tom Brady to become the most dominant quarterback in NFL history. Anthony's slide wasn't as steep as Brady's, but dropping out of the first round and down to No. 79 was painful for an 18-year-old kid.

Anthony used his draft-day slight as fuel to rocket through the minor leagues. He'd never be a first-round pick, but by September 2024 — 26 months after the draft — he was the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball.

When he's home in Florida, Anthony now relishes running into those scouts that once undersold his potential.

"You see the area scouts that for whatever reason told you that you weren't a first-rounder and kinda just look at them now and you're like, 'Huh. I think you missed a little bit on that,'" Anthony said.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but for me, I was pissed off."

Boston Red Sox 's Roman Anthony stands in the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees , Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)AP

The student

From high school to the big leagues, coaches have universally lauded Anthony's coachability.

Because Tony Anthony's father wasn't around when he was young, he was motivated to be a major presence in the lives of his three children: Anthony Jr., Lia, and Roman. That meant when Roman Anthony wanted to play baseball, his father was his first coach. While not a ballplayer himself, it was important for him to support his youngest son.

"Ever since I could remember I wanted to be a professional baseball player. Be a Hall of Famer," Roman Anthony said.

By the time he was 12, Anthony began to outgrow his father's coaching.

Fitz-Gerald, the legendary Florida coach, approached Tony Anthony after a game and sought his blessing to recruit his son to the Florida Pokers, one of the best travel ball teams in the state. Fitz-Gerald's team played 45 minutes away, but he saw potential in Anthony and had coached big leaguers like Hosmer and dozens of other draftees.

Tony Anthony listened to Fitz-Gerald's pitch, realized what he could offer his son and sent him to the Pokers.

"Credit to my dad and my mom for understanding that," Roman Anthony said. "It can be tough to let go and accept the fact that sometimes it's time to give your kid over to somebody else who is going to help them and benefit them."

Anthony shined immediately on the Pokers, and was the team's "plow horse," according to Devin Fitz-Gerald, Todd's son and Anthony's teammate. Things crescendoed at a tournament in Cooperstown. Anthony didn't just hit home runs in three straight at-bats — he hit three consecutive grand slams.

"We pounded a lot of teams out there ... but just seeing that, that's a different kind of thing," Devin Fitz-Gerald said.

When high school rolled around, the Anthonys made an even more significant sacrifice. Roman's career was picking up steam, and Todd Fitz-Gerald was also the coach at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, an hour from their residence in West Palm Beach.

Fitz-Gerald believed Anthony could be a first-rounder if he transferred to Douglas. Tony Anthony was a financial advisor and his wife a physician's assistant. Neither had grown up wealthy, but both realized this was important. They rented a residence in Parkland for two years, so Anthony could be a legal resident and chase his dreams with the best possible coaching.

"The sacrifices ... it's why I'm here right now," Anthony said. "All the success that I've had is a credit to my parents."

The lesson of watching his father put his own ego aside for his benefit is still imprinted on Anthony.

He listens. He takes coaching. He seeks it out.

In Double-A Portland, Sea Dogs manager Chad Epperson wanted Anthony to trust his instincts more and play in shallow center. He developed into a stronger fielder because he listened. Epperson also showed Anthony and his teammate Marcelo Mayer video of Jarren Duran stretching a single into a double by being aggressive out of the box.

"They were like, 'Holy (expletive), we can do this,'" Epperson recalled.

When Anthony was promoted to Triple-A Worcester after parts of two seasons with Epperson, his first hit was a softly struck ball into the gap in left-center. Anthony busted out of the box, noticed the outfielders loafing and slid into second base with a hustle double.

Epperson was proud from afar. Anthony is undoubtedly blessed with natural ability — he's 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds — but has done everything possible to maximize it.

"I've never seen a kid at that age take the steps to know what he's putting in his body, how he treated his body," Epperson said. "How he worked out. You would think he was doing this like a guy that was on the back-nine of his career trying to buy two more years. This guy, 19 years old at the time, 20 years old, it's just impressive."

Boston Red Sox's Roman Anthony rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles , Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)AP

The teammate

Draft day isn't the only time a fire has been lit under Anthony.

During his senior season, the team at Orange Lutheran High School learned what happens when Anthony plays angry.

Ahead of an elite showcase in Cary, North Carolina, the Lutheran team found the Douglas players' girlfriends on social media, including Anthony's. Sophomoric messages were sent. Anthony wasn't amused. Teammates and coaches could tell by the look in his eye.

When the game began, more chirping commenced. Fed up, Anthony let everyone in the Douglas dugout know it was time to make Lutheran pay.

"He wanted to really give it to them," Todd Fitz-Gerald said.

Douglas did. With Anthony leading off and setting the tone, they mercy-ruled Lutheran, 11-0, in five innings.

"During the game, it wasn't so funny," said Christian Rodriguez, one of Anthony's teammates. "But then after the game, when we won, it was pretty funny. He was making jokes about it."

Serious on the field and in interviews, Anthony is beloved inside the walls of his clubhouses. The hype around him has always been there. Whether Gatorade Player of the Year in Florida or baseball's No. 1 prospect in Worcester, he has always remained one of the guys.

"He's a low-key character," Todd Fitz-Gerald said.

Anthony's high school teammates were amused when he got a Mustang and arrived at the field for the first time. The outfielder could barely fit inside the hot rod.

In the weight room, Anthony loved "Friday arm farms," where the boys would try to get their biceps as swole as possible for the weekend ahead.

When the Eagles bleached their hair for state tournaments, and eventually a full season, teammates took note of how often Anthony seemed to misplace his hat.

"Bleached-Hair Roman was a fun Roman to experience," Rodriguez said. "He used to love showing it off. Never wore his hat as much as he should, whenever he got the chance, you'd always catch him taking pictures of himself with the blonde hair."

In the minor leagues, Mayer became one of Anthony's closest friends, and the two lived together for years. When they both cracked the big leagues last season, they still opted to remain roommates.

"We're messy sometimes, but I think for the most part the house is pretty clean," Mayer said. "We were 21-year-old boys, so you can only be so clean. Clean to me is probably different than clean to my mom, you know?"

When Anthony signed an eight-year extension that will pay him at least $130 million, there was a Lamborghini purchase. He is a 21-year-old millionaire, after all. But he said new wheels haven't been the most meaningful.

"The coolest things for me were the little things," he said. "Coming back home and being able to take my boys out, my inner circle that has been there forever. Take a group of guys out and just pay for dinner."

When friends still tried to pick up the tab for those South Florida seafood dinners, Anthony knew he'd surrounded himself with the right people.

Boston Red Sox's Roman Anthony, center, is embraced after his winning walkoff single in the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP

The presence

Fellowship followed Anthony to the pros, even in the hyper-competitive Triple-A clubhouse, where rookies and veterans are all just one phone call away from the majors.

When Anthony debuted in Worcester as a 20-year-old, it would have been easy for older players to resent his rise. The opposite was true.

"People flock to him," WooSox manager Chad Tracy said. "Not just young guys. Veterans and young guys alike because of the way that he handled himself and the way that he behaved even at a young age. Our veteran guys wanted to be around him."

When Anthony's promotion to the majors came, it was more of the same in Boston.

He was just 21 years old when he made his debut last June, but entering a clubhouse with veteran leaders like Alex Bregman and Trevor Story , Anthony wasn't out of place. He'd been the youngest player on just about every one of his minor league teams, so fitting in at Fenway Park didn't faze him. The vets were impressed.

"Very poised. Mature beyond his years. Ready for the moment," Story said. "Just a confident player, a confident person on and off the field."

Anthony has been hyped as the next great Red Sox left fielder. Like legends Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice and Manny Ramirez, he'll patrol the grass in front of the Green Monster with hopes of lifting his team to new heights.

But it's not the ghosts of Red Sox past that motivate Anthony.

"I'm holding myself to that Red Sox standard of showing up every day and giving it all I've got," Anthony said. "Giving it back to the people that are supporting and watching: Owing it to myself and to that little kid who is in the stands who is coming to see me for the first time, similar to the way that I was when I was watching games."

The rising star

Anthony wasn't supposed to be at the World Baseball Classic.

The 21-year-old didn't make the original cut, but when Corbin Carroll withdrew due to a broken bone in his hand, Anthony jumped at the chance to represent his country.

Team USA was better for it.

Anthony was one of the best players on the diamond. He slashed .280/.400/.520 and hit a go-ahead home run against the Dominican Republic in the semifinals. Anthony was named to the all-tournament team and his at-bats were appointment viewing.

"We saw him play with the big boys in that tournament and it seems like he was one of the best players," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "The way he performed at a high level in high-leverage situations ... He represented his family, his country, and the Red Sox the right way and we expect him to continue to do that."

But the last at-bat of the World Baseball Classic will stick with Anthony.

With USA trailing Venezuela 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth in the championship, closer Daniel Palencia blew a 100 mph heater past him for the final out. As Palencia threw his glove to the sky and Venezuelans stormed the field, Anthony looked to the turf and trudged back to the American dugout, bat in hand.

Despite a terrific tournament, going out that way stung. He's sat with the sickening feeling rather than avoiding it.

"Being the last at-bat, striking out to end the game, that sucked," Anthony said. "For me it's about understanding that feeling and not trying to hide from it, but almost embracing it in a sense. Understanding, trying to learn from what I can do differently next time and just improve off of it. Try to avoid that feeling as much as I can in the future."

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