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Roman Anthony wastes no time making Red Sox history on Opening Day
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- Roman Anthony wastes no time making Red Sox history on Opening Day
Roman Anthony kicked off the 2026 MLB season by making Red Sox history.
The outfielder began Boston's Opening Day game against the Cincinnati Reds with a 112.3 mph single on the first pitch.
At 21 years, 317 days old, Anthony became the youngest Red Sox player ever to reach base in the Red Sox' first plate appearance of the year, per J.P. Long .
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Anthony was called up to Boston last June and provided an offensive spark for the lineup before he suffered an oblique injury that ended his season early.
The outfielder was batting .292 with eight home runs and 32 RBI. He was a big reason for the Red Sox' offensive turnaround in June.
Anthony ranked first in the American League in multi-hit games (24), third in on-base percentage (.421) and hits (68), fourth in average (.329) and seventh in OPS (.933) in a 54-game stretch.
After his showing in the World Baseball Classic that included making history on different occasions throughout the tournament, Anthony has even more expectations surrounding him for the 2026 season. The Red Sox didn't sign a bonafide power bat after losing Alex Bregman in free agency, and it's possible Anthony could provide some of that power as the leadoff hitter.
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