Roman Anthony Climbs Boston Red Sox Leaderboard With Strong Rookie Season

Roman Anthony was the No. 1 prospect in baseball, so it's not a big surprise to see him having a successful rookie season with the Boston Red Sox. But compare his numbers to all-time greats in Red Sox history, and in that context it's all the more impressive.

Anthony played a key role in a 6-3 victory over the American League East division rival New York Yankees. He tied the game with a single to center field in the sixth, then provided crucial insurance runs in the ninth inning with a two-run home run. That production put Anthony in rare company.

Here's the leaderboard for the most RBI recorded by a Red Sox player age 21 or younger within their first 60 career MLB games, per StatsCentre:

65- Ted Williams
37- Carl Yastrzemski
33- Rafael Devers
28- Tony Conigliaro
27- Tris Speaker
26- Roman Anthony
25- Dalton Jones
23- Babe Ruth

The Red Sox promoted Anthony, a 6-foot-3 outfielder, for his Major League debut on June 9, and he's hit the ground running ever since. Through 252 plate appearances, he's slashing .286/.405/.448/.852 with five home runs, 26 RBIs, 17 doubles, four stolen bases, 37 walks and 64 strikeouts.

Anthony's big night in the victory brought the Red Sox just a half game back of the Yankees for second place in the AL East and five games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place. The Yankees and Red Sox are currently the top two wild card teams, with Boston leading the Seattle Mariners by one game, the Kansas City Royals by three and the Cleveland Guardians by four.

The Red Sox and Yankees play the second of an important four-game series on Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium, with Brayan Bello taking the mound against Max Fried.