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Boston Red Sox rookie outfielder Roman Anthony made his long-awaited MLB debut this week during a series against AL East rival Tampa Bay. Previously considered the top minor league prospect in baseball, he made an instant impact.
The youngster picked up an RBI in Game 1. He added to that total with a two-run double in Game 2. Roman Anthony’s mom, dad, brother, and sister went viral soon after.
The whole family was in attendance for a Tuesday night bout between the Red Sox and the Rays. The right fielder didn’t disappoint.
With the group sitting front row just outside the Boston dugout, Anthony laced an opposite field two-bagger in the bottom of the first inning. It was the first hit of his big-league career. MLB viewers took notice.
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Anthony’s double went viral as did his “very Italian” family. The rookie’s talked about his roots in past interviews while navigating his way through professional baseball. He’s appreciative of his circle, which he again expressed on Tuesday.
“That group out there has been with me every step of the way,” he said after the game. “Just to see them here… it was special, for sure.”
Anthony’s also made light of his family’s lack of creativity when it comes to first names. “Our whole family, we’ve got a lot of Johns, a lot of Anthony Anthony’s,” he mentioned in an interview with NESN. “We didn’t really get too creative with it.”
Roman Anthony’s brother is named Anthony Anthony. His dad is named Anthony Anthony. His granddad is named Anthony Anthony. It’s a very common name on the Anthony family tree.
Romany Anthony’s sister, however, is named Lia. She, too, gained instant internet fame after seeing her little brother make his debut.
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Lia saw a spike of more than 15,000 Instagram followers overnight after she was shown on camera during Roman’s second big-league game. She spoke on the unexpected internet fame in a radio interview this week.
“It’s been surreal,” she said in an appearance on the Greg Hill Show. “I went from having 3,000, and now I’m at 14,000 (that number is north of 18,000 at the time of this writing)… We were all just shocked by it.”
Lia Anthony was able to convey both her and her family’s surprise to the overnight fame. She was simply there to support her brother. It wasn’t something anyone saw coming.
With that being said, her social media following should only continue to grow as the season treks on. She’s apparently no longer “Roman Anthony’s sister” to Red Sox fans.