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Red Sox legends deliver blunt response over comparison with Boston’s current crop of rookies
"The Big 3 is not anything like us. Don’t compare them with us. Don’t compare them with us."
The youth movement is well underway in Boston.
And while the 2025 Red Sox are anchored by veterans like Alex Bregman and established big-league talent like Garrett Crochet, Boston has received a sizable lift this summer by an influx of dynamic young players.
The Red Sox’s current 10-game win streak has been orchestrated by several youngsters, especially a promising rookie class that features Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Carlos Narvaez, and others.
Add in second-year pros like Ceddanne Rafaela, and Boston seemingly has plenty of bright years ahead with this core in place.
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But even with the promise and product already showcased by the likes of Anthony, Mayer, and Kristian Campbell, Red Sox legends Jim Rice and Fred Lynn believe that others should pump the brakes when it comes to making comparisons between Boston’s current young core and the “Gold Dust Twins” of yesteryear.
“The Big 3 is not anything like us. Don’t compare them with us. Don’t compare them with us,” Rice told MassLive’s Chris Mason. “You look at opposing teams that we played, (they) were much better than what you see now. The pitching was much better than what you see now. You had a 4-man rotation.
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“You don’t have an 8-man, 9-man rotation. You don’t have that. You had a stacked bullpen when we played. You don’t have that. So you can’t compare us with them.”
Even with Anthony’s strong plate discipline and current nine-game hit streak, Boston’s top rookies have a long way to go to replicate the impact generated by the “Gold Dust Twins” in 1975.
During Lynn and Rice’s first full season in the big leagues in 1975, Lynn became the first player in MLB history to win both MVP and Rookie of the Year honors, while Rice finished runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting and third overall in the AL MVP race.
But beyond the stats, Rice and Lynn both said comparisons between them and the likes of Anthony, Mayer, and Campbell ring hollow because the environment was much tougher for rookies during their era.
“You had to earn your respect,” Rice told Mason. “Guys come in now and they just yak, yak, yak, yak and think they already got 10 years in. No, no, no. It’s called respect. You’ve gotta earn it — and that’s what Freddie and I did. We earned it.
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“Rookies today are treated vastly differently than when we were rookies,” Lynn added. “We didn’t speak to the veterans unless we were spoken to, basically. You had to earn your stripes … These guys today, people are helping them. They have people help rookies! We didn’t have any of that!”
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