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Dateline: Cincinnati
Roman Anthony hit the ball as hard as he could. It had so much back spin that it crashed into the forearm of one of his best friends, Sal Stewart.
Stewart went numb right away and was afraid his arm was broken in the fifth inning of the 2026 season, The ball reached a speed of 110 o miles an hour off the bat and Stewart fell to his knees.
Anthony thankful for the hit, worried about a friend he has known since they were 14. It wasn't a lifetime ago as Stewart is 22 and just five months older than Anthony, yet the bond is solid.
"He's so tough," Anthony said. "I text him to see how he was doing and all he said was what are you doing on the off day."
They played on a national travel team together from a young age. The players were from all over the country but the two boys from South Florida, stuck together and were real close, "real fast", according to Anthony.
"We grew up playing together and against each other. The Red Sox are super lucky to have him," Stewart said. "He is such a good person. He is someone you can build your whole franchise around. No one is more excited for his future than me. He is a great person. His family is great."
"Just playing with him, hanging out, when you're on the travel ball circle you get to know a lot of people. Something between us really clicked. He is really, really good. I think someday he's going to be a Hall of Famer. More important he's a Hall of Fame person. He treats every one the same way. That's the biggest compliment I can give him," Stewart said.
"We stayed close all through the minor leagues. He's a good buddy of mine. We traveled together and then played against each other in high school our Jr. and Senior years," Anthony said.
Stewart attended Westminster Christian School in Miami. Anthony went to Majorie Stoneman Douglas High School famous for the mass shooting in 2018 in Broward County in Parkland, Florida.
"You play with the best when you're growing up in the summer, then you get scattered across the minor leagues. You get to the big leagues pretty quick there's not many. The other 29 teams it's rare that I see somewhat that I played with. It is cool to see someone you played with. I went to Seattle and saw Cole Young, who I played with for four years."
Anthony was picked in the second round of the 2022 draft by the Red Sox, the 79th pick in the draft. Stewart was a compensation pick in the first round. Cam Collier was picked by the Reds ahead of Stewart in the first round but Stewart was the 32nd player picked in 2022.
Anthony was first to the big leagues, making his debut on June 9. Stewart was called up by the Reds on September 1 and played that day hitting a single in his first game. The Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees in the Wild Card Series but Anthony did not play.
Stewart played in both games of the Reds Wild Card Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and had two hits in four at bats.
As close as they are, the meeting snuck up on Anthony with all the attention on opening day and both players winning a spot on their respective rosters in spring training, Anthony in Florida, Stewart in Arizona.
"I didn't put two and two together," Anthony said. "Given that we don't see these guys in spring training or anything. I knew Sal made it up last year. We were out as a team and I saw Sal and his family and I though oh, I completely forgot he was here so seeing him was awesome. I'm super close with his family."
Anthony could see how good a baseball player and athlete Stewart was at the age of 14.
"Here he is batting fourth and doing his thing. He's going to be an unbeelievable hitter in this league for a very, very long time. I could have told you that when he was 14. He's hit fourth on probably every team, he's ever been on and is such a great person."
Anthony claimed he was usually sixth or seventh in the batting order but he is perhaps too modest. He batted leadoff for the Red Sox in all three games of the series and had hits in his first three at bats.
Still Anthony marveled at Stewart's toughness and staying in the game after he was smoked by his own hard ground ball.
"That's just who he is. He stayed in the game and hit a double against one of the best pitchers in the world (Garrett Crochet). I saw that he was in the lineup yesterday and he hit the home run. It sucks when he hits a home run against you but deep down, you're happy for him," Anthony said.
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