Late final August, Roman Anthony stormed into Yankee Stadium for the primary time in his profession and introduced his presence in probably the most unmistakable method potential:
The bomb, the bat flip, the physique language; all there for the world to witness. Within the second, it felt much less like a baseball recreation and extra like a Coronation Day, with Anthony set to take his place as the newest in a protracted line of kings who’ve patrolled left area at Fenway Park over the generations. He was right here, he was superior, he was signed to an extension, and Yankee followers have been going to must spend the subsequent decade watching highlights like this each time they confronted the Crimson Sox.
However in fact, baseball is rarely that easy. Since that seemingly momentous second, the Crimson Sox have performed the Yankees for a trio of three recreation sequence (together with the playoffs), and Roman Anthony has missed eight of the 9 video games with three totally different injures, all sustained whereas merely swinging a bat.
The indirect damage he suffered on a swing that ended his season final September is well-known and documented, so there’s actually no must dig additional into that one, however given the place we’re along with his newest damage, it’s most likely a great time to evaluation his feedback after the higher again tweak that value him the ultimate two video games of the Yankee sequence in April.
“A bizarre factor that occurred on a swing.”
Right here’s the issue: These bizarre issues on a swing have now occurred in three consecutive baseball months (September, April and Might), and the one purpose it may not occur in June is as a result of he hasn’t been on the sphere but.
So with the background lined, let’s dive deep into the astronomically irritating timeline of Roman Anthony’s newest damage, beginning on Might fifth:
Two days later, he went on the IL:
Additionally on that day, Roman Anthony clarified the damage was to a ligament under his ring finger, and to not his wrist.
5 days later, the primary actual indicators of the therapeutic course of progressing slower than all people would’ve preferred turned evident:
However even at this level, they nonetheless weren’t ruling out the concept of Anthony coming off the IL within the minimal ten days. They simply needed to look ahead to his “grip energy” to get again to regular.
Three days after that, the splint/brace lastly got here off, and it appeared issues have been enhancing.
Nevertheless it nonetheless took one other week after that earlier than there was any actual enchancment reported in his grip energy.
And it was one other 4 days after that when he lastly was in a position to take dry swings (swinging with out hitting the ball).
Three days later, and one thing very unhealthy occurred when he was hitting off a tee (truly making contact with the ball).
Properly, a couple of days glided by, and he nonetheless wasn’t even in a position to dry swing the bat.
Now, right here we’re one other week after that, and there’s nonetheless no actual replace. So my query is, what the hell occurred on Might twenty eighth when Roman Anthony swung off a tee?
I see two normal prospects right here — One regarding, and the opposite alarming. The primary being he might need reinjured it whereas swinging and making contact with the ball, and we’re simply not being advised the main points. That might end in a return date being pushed again weeks and even months relying on the extent of the harm.
However as unhealthy as that sounds, it’s truly not the state of affairs that’s conserving me up at evening and poisoning my pleasure. As a substitute, that honor goes to the chance {that a} downright horrifying whisper at the back of my mind might be proper. Like a demon from the depths of the Earth I can’t outrun, it retains telling me that Roman Anthony may simply be a man that breaks simply, recovers slowly, and it’s at all times going to be that approach.
In different phrases, it’s asking the query: “What if Roman Anthony’s physique can’t deal with Roman Anthony’s elite, strong and violent swing?” That’s the state of affairs I concern probably the most, and I actually, actually don’t wish to must go down that street.
A little bit of this concern slipped out in actual time when Tim Healey first reported Anthony was happening the IL. Right here’s my uncooked, emotional (over?)response.
Right here we’re a month later, and nothing that’s occurred since makes me really feel any higher about this complete factor. In reality, every day the information doesn’t enhance, it jogs my memory increasingly more of anther participant I adopted, lined, cherished, and wrote about for years right here on SB Nation’s Rockies sister web site, Purple Row: Troy Tulowitzki.
Precisely two years in the past, I opened up about why baseball, the Rockies, and Troy Tulowitzki were such important figures in my life, and the way I used to be in a position to let go of the final two. However now, I’m beginning to marvel if time actually is a flat circle.
Since you see, in all my years of watching this superb sport, I’ve by no means been extra assured that two guys I watched from the second they started to rise by means of the minors have been going to be all time nice gamers. They in fact are Roman Anthony and Troy Tulowitzki, and I’m positive you already see the place that is going.
Final winter, there was part of me that wished to put in writing round a dozen Roman Anthony articles fawning over how good I believed he was going to turn into based mostly on the underlying metrics, his fast rise, his make up, his eye on the plate, the quotes he gave me when he was in Worcester, and the overall approach stars and energy develop within the sport.
I imply, once you take a look at one thing like the very best hard-hit proportion within the 2025 season (min. 150 batted balls) and see a 21-year-old atop a leaderboard like this, it’s simply astounding:
- 60.3% – Roman Anthony
- 59.6% – Kyle Schwarber
- 58.7% – Shohei Ohtani
- 58.2% – Aaron Choose
However I actually, actually didn’t wish to really feel the smite of the baseball gods once more (they obtained me good once I did it with Tulowitzki all these years in the past) so I refrained. As a substitute, I simply fortunately perused Baseball Savant for hours and figured I’d get to put in writing these issues this summer time when actuality mirrored it.
Alas, right here we’re. Roman Anthony is injured and therapeutic slowly once more, the Crimson Sox are having a traditionally horrendous season, and similar to Troy Tulowitzki and the Colorado Rockies, the Crimson Sox completely want Roman Anthony to be wholesome and attain his peak.
Each evening, we watch this sorry excuse of a lineup get outgunned by the remainder of baseball, and all of New England retains questioning how the membership goes to repair it. Properly, sadly, it’s a lot, a lot more durable to restore a nasty lineup than it was 20 years in the past given the way in which groups perceive worth and lock up their younger stars. This coupled with efficiency enhancing medication being legislated out of the sport earlier this century, and we’ve (rightfully) additionally just about extinguished many of the manufacturing and availability of men that was as soon as commonplace for guys of their mid to late 30s.
That is all to say, if the Crimson Sox wish to have that absolute stud of their lineup the workforce can construct round and the area can adore, their greatest likelihood of getting it’s nonetheless already of their clubhouse. I’m not simply speaking about getting a great hitter, I’m speaking about getting an excellent hitter. The sort that makes impacts that ripple by means of the lineup every journey round.
As a result of Roman Anthony has that ceiling and the Crimson Sox have constructed the roster as if he’s assured to get there, this has to work. If it doesn’t, and the explanation it doesn’t is as a result of the damage bug drags Roman Anthony into its lair, I can’t emphasize sufficient how a lot that’s going to suck!
Not solely is Roman Anthony’s ceiling uncommon and distinctive, however he additionally appears remarkably conscious of it. Check out this quote from simply earlier than his newest damage saga when he was requested what he considered his season to date:
“Sort of a letdown, truthfully… Quick pattern measurement, however I wasn’t the place I wished to be… Once I’m at my greatest, my swing selections are nice… While you’re swinging at good pitches, you could have a greater likelihood of hitting the ball within the air, and you’ve got a greater likelihood of doing what you wish to do.”
These are the feedback of a (on the time) 21-year-old on tempo for about 4.0 WAR in 2026. He hadn’t even begun to blossom but this season, was getting unfortunate on balls in play, and he was nonetheless monitoring to be higher than about 95 % of the gamers within the league at season’s finish (sure, even with the low batting common and throwing yips).
Once more, the stratosphere is the restrict right here; and the excellent news is, that hasn’t modified. Sadly, what has modified is we’re more and more confronted with the chance that Roman Anthony might need the muse of a skyscraper and the constructing materials the primary two little pigs used.
Irrespective of how good he’s, it doesn’t matter if he can’t persistently get out on the sphere, as a result of very like a hurricane in your marriage ceremony day, brake failure at a stoplight, or a raccoon infestation in your attic, repetitive, nagging accidents will smash every thing nice you’ve labored for. They’re striaght up poison to an expert athlete, and so they’re occurring to an important member of the Boston Crimson Sox.
So with that, I’ll go away you with one ultimate thought: One of the best factor that may occur to the 2026 Crimson Sox for the long-term outlook of the franchise isn’t a miracle playoff run or much more individuals getting fired. As a substitute, it’s getting constant, excellent news on the Roman Anthony damage entrance and having him shut the season trying just like the man he was about to turn into when he annihilated that pitch in New York final 12 months.
That definitely gained’t remedy all this workforce’s issues, however it’s going to remedy a bunch of them. And likewise, from a private standpoint, I actually, actually don’t wish to do that once more.
