WORCESTER—As the WooSox play some of their best baseball for their four seasons in town, they have done it with roster bookends.
At one end, they had Rich Hill, the 44-year-old veteran who thinks and plays like a rookie. At the other, they have Roman Anthony, the 20-year-old rookie who thinks and plays like a veteran.
Through the years the Red Sox have not promoted many 20-year-olds to their Triple-A teams. Many of the names on that list are significant ones. The most recent was Rafael Devers in 2017 for Pawtucket. Before that, Xander Bogaerts was 20 for the PawSox in 2013.
Some others on that 20-something list are Jeff Suppan (1995), Rich Gedman (1980), Glenn Hoffman (1979) and Don Aase (1973). And lest we forget — Jim Rice made his Triple-A debut with Pawtucket 1973 and Dwight Evans was just 20 when he joined the Louisville Colonels in ’72.
Coincidentally, if you believe in that concept, one of those other 20-somethings is now Anthony’s batting coach.
“It’s tough to say,” Gedman replied to a question about the similarities between his debut and Anthony’s. “He was in a lot different position than I was. He’s way more physical than I was.
“It’s the type of temperament. It’s the type of kid we’re working with. He’s mature beyond his years and I don’t know exactly why.”
After Wednesday night’s game at Polar Park, a 5-4 Worcester victory over Toledo, Anthony was batting .362 and working on a nine-game hitting streak. He had started 14 games since being promoted from Portland and the WooSox were 12-2 in those games.
Anthony had hits in his first three Triple-A at bats, then fell into an 0 for 17 slump that dropped his average to .158 after five games. Since then he is 18 for 39, a .462 clip.
No WooSox batter has ever hit for the cycle — single, double, triple, home run in the same game — but Anthony almost did it twice within eight days. The most recent “almost” was Tuesday night at Polar Park when he singled twice, doubled and tripled. In his final plate appearance of the night, with Worcester owning a 12-2 lead, Anthony worked a base on balls instead of swinging away for the home run that would have given him the cycle.
“It was awesome,” manager Chad Tracy said. “It was him saying, ‘I’m not gonna force it. I’ll take my walk.”
It was also probably above and beyond the call of duty in a 12-2 game. When Anthony took ball four, his teammates were yelling from the dugout for him to challenge the call so he could have one last swing.
With the WooSox having evolved into an offensive power house, the team has a chance of somebody finally hitting for the cycle. Only one Red Sox Triple-A batter has done that in this century, Henry Ramos of the PawSox on July 4, 2016 in Charlotte.
Ramos had a homer, double and triple when he came up in the top of the ninth, then beat out a bunt to complete the cycle. Pawtucket won the game, 7-4.
Anthony’s near-miss was the 39th in WooSox history, the seventh where the home run was the lacking hit. Teammate Bobby Dalbec has the most “almosts” with four, twice minus a double, twice a triple.
Maybe it is size. Maybe it is demeanor. Perhaps it is just confidence, but Anthony might be the oldest 20-year-old in the minors. For him, age has just been a number.
“There are a lot of things to like about him,” Gedman said. “That’s for sure. It’s very clear to him the way the game is, and it doesn’t happen very often that a guy fits into a room as soon as he steps into it.”
And so far, the youngest guy in the room has helped put the WooSox in playoff contention.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
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