The windiest November afternoons in Stillwater, Oklahoma, are not exactly welcoming for the unprepared. A gust of cold air drains your energy and leaves you shivering, while your fingers feel dangerously brittle against the chill. You risk losing your hat if it’s not snug on your head.
But Roman Anthony doesn’t seek out warm welcomes. For him, any environment that helps him improve his game is warm enough to fuel his passion for baseball.
That’s why he chose to spend part of his offseason in Stillwater, working on his swing with his friend Jackson Holliday, a former No. 1 prospect and current second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles. Fortunately, much of their training took place inside the batting cage at the Holliday family’s home sports facility. Still, the 19-year-old traveled over a thousand miles from his sunny North Palm Beach home to endure the Oklahoma wind just to train with Holliday.
“Most 18 or 19-year-olds would want to hang out at the beach,” said Willie Romay, Anthony’s signing scout. “But here’s Roman putting in the work during the offseason.”
All that effort has paid off. With Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero graduating from prospect status, Anthony is now ranked as Baseball America’s No. 1 prospect. The last Red Sox player to earn this honor was Andrew Benintendi in 2017. Other evaluation sites also recognize Anthony’s talent—he’s No. 12 on MLB Pipeline’s list and 11th on FanGraphs’.
Facing such high expectations can be daunting for a 20-year-old, but Anthony doesn’t feel the pressure.
“I’m just having fun,” he told Boston.com. “This is what I love to do.”
While it’s common for players to feel anxious before games, they have various ways to cope. Some hit the weight room more, while others joke around with teammates to ease their minds. Anthony does both, but he rarely feels the need to relieve pressure. When he walks from his locker to the weight room, he carries an air of calm that most prospects his age won’t achieve for years.
“Sometimes you don’t even realize how young he is,” said Anthony’s teammate Marcelo Mayer. “His maturity is evident in the way he carries himself both on and off the field.”
But there’s no doubt that Anthony is deeply committed to becoming an excellent baseball player. Romay first noticed this passion when he attended one of Anthony’s practices during his sophomore year of high school. That day, the outfielder asked Romay which aspects of his game he excelled in and where he needed improvement.
When Romay returned three weeks later, Anthony asked him to watch his batting practice. Nearly every swing and stance reflected the advice Romay had given him.
“He took my feedback and said, ‘You know what, I’m going to build on this,’” Romay recalled. “That’s what good players do.”
Anthony’s drive to excel comes from a fierce competitive spirit, one that often characterizes the youngest child. Growing up, his older siblings frequently bossed him around, which ignited a competitive fire in Anthony that fueled his passion during every childhood sports game.
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