Roman Anthony played a big role getting the Red Sox into playoff position. It’s on the veterans to play into October.
The Red Sox have turned their season around in a remarkable, wildly entertaining, and in my case, an entirely unforeseen way.
I’ll confess. In late May, nearly 60 games into this Red Sox season, I did not see a path to where they are now, in these early days of September.
On May 27, the Red Sox were 27-30, 8½ games behind the division-leading Yankees, and not-so-proud owners of the American League’s 11th-best record. We were not basking in hope.
Rafael Devers was still here and acting allergic to both accountability and a first baseman’s mitt. Trevor Story was wrapping up a wretched month in which he would bat .158 with a .432 OPS, making some among us wonder whether the Red Sox should just eat the remainder of his contract and write his tenure here off as a lost cause. Roman Anthony was in Worcester. Kristian Campbell soon was headed there.
Three full months, 51 wins and 33 losses since, and, well, they sure did find a path.
Entering Friday’s opener of a three-game set in Arizona against the Diamondbacks (what a storied rivalry this is!), the Red Sox sit 3½ games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East, a half-game behind the Yankees for the top spot in the AL wild-card race. Baseball-reference gives the Sox a 98.1 percent chance of reaching the postseason. I’m guessing it was somewhat less than that in May.
They have turned their season around in a remarkable, wildly entertaining, and in my case, an entirely unforeseen way. (And I’m usually the optimist around here.)
A few reasons for the Red Sox’ standings-climbing trajectory, if hardly all of them: Story has been one of the best players (and yes, stories) in baseball over the last 76 games, during which he has hit .296 with a .342 on-base percentage, a .527 slugging percentage, and 16 home runs in 316 plate appearances.
Brayan Bello has developed into a legitimate No. 2 starter behind ace Garrett Crochet. Garrett Whitlock and closer Aroldis Chapman have ruled the late innings. (Chapman is the Red Sox’ most stress-free closer since Koji Uehara.)
Virtually everyone, from Jarren Duran and Cedanne Rafaela to Romy Gonzalez and Nationals discard Nathaniel Lowe, have contributed in ways that suggest resilience might be this team’s greatest collective attribute.
Oh, and of course, the most important development on that path: Roman Anthony got called up, called the since-traded Devers a teammate for a week, took about two weeks to acclimate to the big leagues, and did a spot-on Juan Soto imitation from there on out, including slashing a staggering .336/.439/.564 with 6 home runs in 132 plate appearances in the leadoff spot.
Unfortunately, you may have noticed that we had to reference Anthony in the past tense there. You know why, and it still feels lousy a few days later. Anthony suffered an oblique injury in the Red Sox’ 11-7 victory over the Guardians Tuesday night.
Any hopes that we might hear the words “removed for precautionary reasons” was lost before the game was complete, and the deflating news came down Wednesday: the super-rookie had strained oblique that would keep him out for 4-6 weeks.
The math just offered more disappointing confirmations: it meant he almost certainly would not be able to play again until the postseason was well underway.
Last week, I wrote about talking to Fred Lynn — someone who knows about unforgettable rookie seasons — about Anthony, and their similarities. Now it turns out his rookie year might be more similar to Lynn’s fellow 1975 Gold Dust Twin, Jim Rice, whose dazzling debut season ended abruptly when his wrist was broken by a Vern Ruhle fastball late that September, knocking him out for the postseason.
It’s such a disappointment that Anthony — whose every plate appearance had become a stop-what-you’re-doing-and-watch affairs, with payoffs such as his breathtaking bomb last Friday off Pirates fireballer Paul Skenes — is out.
It also serves as a reminder that fans would prefer not to need: The Red Sox have come a long way since May, giving fans the most enjoyable team we’ve seen around here since Mookie Betts was traded, and yes, I’m including their improbable and ultimately fluky playoff berth in 2021.
But there is still another month to go. Without Anthony (and with ace Crochet wobbling in his last start), the Red Sox may well encounter some turbulence before landing on the runway that leads to the postseason.
The Red Sox’ season got aimed in the right direction in large part because Anthony became their best player at just 21 years old and after that stunningly brief acclimation period. Now its time for the team’s veterans to make sure nothing veers off course in September.
Story, notoriously streaky, must keep it up.
Masataka Yoshida, who had an .832 OPS against righthanded pitching last year, needs to stop grounding to second every other at-bat and pick up some of the slack.
Alex Bregman (4 for his last 41) must start hitting the ball in the air again; he’s been the inverted Yoshida lately, grounding the ball to the left side over and over again.
Duran really would help by having another month like July, when he had a 1.093 OPS.
Wilyer Abreu — fifth on the Red Sox in plate appearances, but second in home runs (22, just behind Story’s 23) — needs to contribute immediately once his sore calf is healed.
These Red Sox have been so resilient, a pleasant revelation since those not-so-hopeful days of May. But their greatest revelation this season has been that Anthony was ready to be a superstar, right now.
He will be missed. The rest of the Red Sox are about to determine just how much.
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