Life in the big leagues can be quite the culture shock. Just ask Kristian Campbell, who thought he would have a roommate on the road.
Red Sox rookie Roman Anthony is yet to get a taste of life on the road, but was caught off guard in his own way on Tuesday. His family couldn’t attend his debut, but they made the trip to Fenway for his second game and sat right next to the Red Sox dugout.
While Anthony knew they would be there, he didn’t know where they would be sitting.
“To have them here was special, for sure,” Anthony said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I didn’t even really notice they were there until I went up for my first at-bat. Nobody really gave me the heads up that they were going to be that close.”
Although surprised, Anthony wasn’t fazed. He laced a changeup from Rays starter Ryan Pepiot down the left field line to open the scoring for the Red Sox.
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The at-bat showed real maturity from Anthony. Pepiot fooled him with a changeup earlier in the count and tried to go back to the pitch two more times. That was one too many, as Anthony took the ball the other way for his first career hit.
Anthony also made a sliding catch in the outfield, a day after misplaying a ground ball in right field. It’s been just two games, but the top prospect is already showing flashes of why he’s held in such high regard.
