Red Sox’ Roman Anthony already reaches elite status at getting on-base

In his first few months in the major leagues, Roman Anthony has kept getting into trouble.

The rookie outfielder’s on-base percentage topped.400 as he reached base three times in Saturday’s 7-5 Red Sox victory over the Marlins. His season-long on-base percentage is currently.405 as of right now.

If Anthony had enough plate appearances to qualify, that mark would rank third in baseball. This season, only Dodgers catcher Will Smith (.413) and Yankees star Aaron Judge (.445) have been more adept at getting on base.

Unfortunately, Anthony’s June call-up means that he most likely won’t earn enough plate appearances to meet league requirements in metrics like on-base percentage, slugging percentage, or OPS. To hit that mark, he would need to make at least seven plate appearances a game on average for the remainder of the season.

Additionally, that would preclude Anthony from posting one of the greatest rookie on-base percentages in recent memory. Judge’s 2017 on-base percentage of.422 was the highest since 1951 for a rookie. Although Juan Soto had a rookie season with a.406 on-base percentage the following year, he did not have enough plate appearances to earn a spot on the all-time rankings.

Anthony’s on-base % after his first 10 games in the major leagues has been historically excellent, even though it is lower going into Sunday than the figures Judge and Soto recorded as rookies. Since June 21, his on-base percentage is.439.

Over the course of a season, Anthony’s on-base percentage of.439 would rank sixth in all time for a rookie and the highest for a rookie since 1939. Additionally, it would be superior to Ted Williams’ on-base percentage of.436 from his first campaign.

Speaking of Williams, on Saturday, Anthony placed himself in a different league with the greatest Red Sox player of all time. He became the fourth player in Red Sox history to hit that many doubles in their first 55 games with his 17th of the season in the third inning. The other three were Dom DiMaggio, Jed Lowrie, and Williams.

Earlier this week, Anthony joined Williams in several other famous landmarks. Anthony became the youngest player since Williams to record four walks and a home run in a game on Tuesday’s victory over the Astros. In his first 51 games as a Red Sox player, he also became the only player since Williams to record at least 20 extra-base hits and 20 walks.

Since moving to the leadoff spot on July 27, Anthony has been hurting. The youngster said he feels pressured to get on base in whatever manner he can to support the rest of the lineup.

Anthony told reporters on Saturday, “I think it makes it much more comfortable for me just to know that I have guys behind me.” I’m just trying to be flawless when it comes to hitting a pitch and making sure it’s something I can damage rather than relying on the guys behind me and walking.

After Anthony’s walk in the ninth inning helped the Red Sox defeat the Marlins on Friday, teammate Alex Bregman referred to the rookie as one of the best hitters in baseball already because of his cautious approach and eye at the plate.

He is very mature, as seen by the fact that he went 0-for-4 in Houston with a few punch outs against a very good arm. Bregman told reporters on Friday that he didn’t go out and chase hits in his next two at-bats after punching out twice against [Sandy] Alc ntara. They are forced to toss the ball over the plate by you. Furthermore, his maturity in not trying to do too much in those circumstances is unique, and his plate discipline is insane for his age. It’s fantastic to whack him from behind.

Indeed, Anthony is conscious of the historical parallels being made about him due to his recent outstanding at-bat performance.

Anthony praised the historical parallels, saying they were excellent. I believe you’re doing something good whenever you’re speaking with any of those people. Even better is simply getting on base, scoring runs, and contributing to the team’s victory.