The manager of the New York Yankees has a theory why the Boston Red Sox have gone from a sub-.500 team at the start of July to second place in the American League East entering the final week of August.
As is custom, Yankees manager Aaron Boone met with ESPN’s crew prior to the latest edition of Sunday Night Baseball featuring the Yankees against the Boston Red Sox. In the latest edition of the ESPN Baseball Tonight podcast, reporter Buster Olney revealed an exchange he had with Boone during their pregame meeting.
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“When we were talking to Aaron Boone before the game, I asked him … ‘how do you think (the Red Sox) have gotten better?’ I think is how I phrased the question,” Olney recalled, “and he just kind of smiles at us and says, well, ‘they called up Roman Anthony,’ as being a big factor.”
The reason behind a baseball team’s surge is rarely as simple as “they called up Roman Anthony,” or any player. Too many poor performances on a 26-man roster will be impossible for any one player to mask.
In the case of Anthony, his promotion is no worse than coincidental to Boston’s turnaround.
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The Red Sox were 32-35 after beating the Yankees on June 8 in New York, the day before Anthony made his long-awaited debut. The consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball at the time, Anthony was hitting .288 with a .423 on-base percentage and .491 slugging percentage at Triple-A Worcester at the time of his promotion.
Roman Anthony, the top prospect in baseball, has been called up to the Red Sox. From the man himself. pic.twitter.com/VwP5uBzyU4
— Katie Morrison-O’Day (@KatieMo61) June 9, 2025
Anthony’s acclimation to big league pitching was not immediate. But since a 5-for-44 start, he’s slashing .320/.422/.489 while moving into the leadoff slot in Alex Cora’s lineup. Boston is 29-18 in games he has played.
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It’s possible, if not likely, that Anthony will win the American League Rookie of the Year Award despite being stuck at Triple-A for the first two months of the season. He’s seen time in right and left field, and accumulated 2.5 WAR in a mere 60 games.
The Red Sox won two of the three games over the weekend at Yankee Stadium to improve their record to 71-60. With five weeks left in the regular season, Boston holds a half-game lead on the Yankees (70-60) in the American League East and AL Wild Card standings.
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