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If watching Roman Anthony makes you remember Fred Lynn’s arrival in Boston, you’re not the only one. Lynn sees it, too.
"I watch Roman and do a double-take."
So the comparison isn’t quite perfect. Who cares about that when it’s such a fun one to make?
If you’re a Red Sox fan of a certain age or one with an enduring appreciation of the delightful happenings at Fenway Park 50 years ago, the ascent of Roman Anthony from top prospect to big-league sensation this summer simply must come as a reminder of Fred Lynn’s arrival (along with fellow rookie outfielder Jim Rice) in that gold-dusted summer of 1975.
Anthony, like Lynn, is a lefthanded-hitting outfielder with a matter-of-fact knack for making the game look so much easier than it is.
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They both wear No. 19, with the easygoing Lynn giving Anthony his blessing on social media after the young outfielder switched from No. 48 one game into his major league career.
“The #19 was good for me. Hoping it’s good for Roman, too,” posted Lynn on X on June 10.
Most important, both had a seismic effect on their team’s fortunes, though Anthony’s full contribution is to be determined further over the season’s final months.
At age 23, Lynn became the first player to be named Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same season, batting .331 with 21 home runs, an MLB-leading 47 doubles, and 103 runs scored, and an AL-leading .967 OPS.
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In 65 games since making his debut on June 9, the 21-year-old Anthony has hit .286 with 7 home runs, 18 doubles, a .396 on-base percentage, and an .858 OPS. In 247 plate appearances since June 20, his slash line is .314/.421/.493.
There are big leaguers who have been around a decade who have less poise. And it is his arrival, and not so much Rafael Devers’s departure, that has changed the course of this Red Sox season. They were 34-35 before Anthony’s call-up, and 40-25 since.
Of course, such a comparison is especially fun to make when the venerable retired ballplayer that the phenom is being equated to sees it himself.
“What you’re seeing with Anthony and some of the young guys on this Red Sox team is kind of reminiscent of ’75, when me and Jimmy came up,” said Lynn via telephone from his home near San Diego on Wednesday.
“And it’s definitely nice to see a lefthanded hitter with No. 19. I wasn’t kidding when I said that number was good to me and I was happy he had it. I watch Roman and do a double-take, because he has that number and a long swing like mine, but he’s a taller guy. It’s almost more like Ted Williams.”
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Lynn makes a few coast-to-coast trips during the season for Red Sox alumni events and appearances in Fenway’s Legends Suite. But most of what he has seen of Anthony has come from highlights, and the traits that impress him are probably the same ones that have impressed you.
“He’s not afraid to take a walk, which is great because that means he’s got a pretty good idea of the strike zone, especially for someone his age,” said Lynn. ”You have to remember he’s seeing most of these pitchers for the first time.”
There are few hitters in Red Sox history who have ever used the dimensions of Fenway to their advantage like Lynn, who hit .347 with a 1.021 OPS in 440 career games at the ballpark. Lynn said he figured out how to hit the ball toward the Green Monster with power early in his rookie season, and took notice that Anthony is already doing the same thing.
“You’ve got to do that as a lefthanded hitter at Fenway,” said Lynn. “You don’t want to be a one-trick pony and just try to pull everything. I saw a couple of highlights where he hit the ball hard down the left-field line, by design, and I though, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool that he’s doing that already.’ ”
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The differences? Anthony is taller and more rugged. (Lynn joked about hiding his arms with long sleeves the next time he runs into Anthony or Jarren Duran in person.) Lynn, who won three national championships while playing for legendary coach Rod Dedeaux at Southern Cal, starred for a US college All-Star team against Japan, and once led the Pan Am games in home runs, was a more experienced player than Anthony upon arriving in the big leagues.
“If Roman had a college career like me coming up now, that dude’s expectation levels would be off the charts, even more than they were,” said Lynn. “But he has it harder in a lot of ways, because in my time there was no advanced scouting, there were no tablets where you could see the guy.
“Back then, you got in the box and you learned on the fly. In those days they wanted to see, well, let’s see if this kid can hit the fastball, whap-whap-whap-whap. Well, I guess he can hit that.
“Now, the information is endless. Everyone knows so much about everyone else. It is not easy, which makes what he is doing all the more impressive.”
There’s also the matter of defense — which, not surprisingly, matters a lot to Lynn, a four-time Gold Glove winner in center field. While Lynn was a one-man highlight reel, both graceful and fearless, Anthony is a corner outfielder. He has played left and right field since his call-up, and Lynn is curious about which corner Anthony ultimately settles in.
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“There’s a big learning curve at Fenway Park,” said Lynn. “You put him in left and he’s got to learn how to play the wall, right? Now you put him in right, he’s got the hockey rink behind him, and it’s a deep right field. These are things that take time to learn.”
Lynn laughed as he explained how particular he is about outfield play, particularly positional designation.
“I hate it when I look at one of my baseball cards and it says outfield for the position,” he said. “Oh, I hate that. There are three spots — center, right, left. They’re different positions. It’s like calling a shortstop an infielder. No, he’s a shortstop.
“Outfielder? Don’t put that on that card,” he added. “Get it off.”
Lynn said he expects be back at Fenway at some point before season’s end.
“I’ll be in [the Legends Suite],” he said, “but every time Anthony comes up, I’m going to say, all right, I need to watch this kid.
“It must be fun for you guys,” Lynn added. “You could just get to see him play every day.”
It sure is, he was told. What was left unsaid, for it went without saying by the end of the conversation, was this:
One of the most fun parts about it is that it’s like watching Lynn all those years ago.
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