All eyes were on MLB’s No. 1 overall prospect, Roman Anthony, on Monday night as he made his long-awaited big-league debut for the Red Sox. However, the pressure seemed to get to the 21-year-old in the top of the fifth inning. With two outs, a hard-hit ball to Anthony in right field quickly turned from a routine play into a frantic scramble, resulting in a brutal error.
MLB’s top prospect Roman Anthony made an unfortunate error in his Red Sox debut.
The ball went right under Roman Anthony’s glove and rolled to the warning track.
The play involved a 111.2 MPH line drive off the bat of Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz. It caught Anthony in an awkward position as he charged to field the ball on its third hop, but it tragically snuck right under his glove. The ball then rolled all the way to the warning track, where Ceddanne Rafaela ranged over from center field to retrieve it and throw it back to the infield. Tampa Bay had a runner on first base when Anthony made this blunder, and that runner subsequently scored, extending the Rays’ lead to 3-0.
“It just can’t happen,” Anthony later told reporters, as per ESPN. “It’s tough when you lose a game like that, you feel like that’s the reason we lost — little things like that. Just got to learn from it and be better.”
A sharp 111.2 MPH line drive from Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz proved costly for Roman Anthony. As he charged to field the ball, it snuck right under his glove, rolling to the warning track. This error allowed a runner on first to score, extending Tampa Bay’s lead to 3-0.
“It just can’t happen,” Anthony told reporters afterward, per ESPN. “It’s tough when you lose a game like that, you feel like that’s the reason we lost — little things like that. Just got to learn from it and be better.”
Diaz reached third on the error, but Boston pitcher Brayan Bello limited the damage by striking out the next batter, ending the inning. Despite Anthony’s early struggles, the Red Sox battled, though they ultimately lost the AL East matchup 10-8 in 11 innings, dropping to 32-36 on the season.
In his highly anticipated debut, Anthony went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a walk in five plate appearances. His whirlwind call-up earlier Monday followed weeks of hype and speculation.
“It was nice to finally take the field, forget about all the outside noise and just be able to take the field with the guys,” he shared with reporters. “Unfortunate we couldn’t get a win, but it was a good experience — good to just get the first one over with.”
While he’ll still be hunting for his first MLB hit, he did knock one item off the bucket list when he recorded his first RBI in the bottom of the ninth on a groundout.
A signature walk-off homer or a game-tying base knock was certainly on the minds of Anthony and Boston fans, but ultimately he did his job getting in one runner and allowing his team to tie things up in the next at-bat.
While the error may have put a damper on Anthony’s debut, MLB’s No. 1 prospect likely doesn’t hold that title for no reason.