As I watched Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel confidently saunter over to their introductory press conference before Tuesday’s game at Polar Park, I couldn’t help but think of another star trio in Boston sports lore that came before them.
Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen.
Get ready, Boston. The New Big Three has finally arrived. Well, here in the Heart of the Commonwealth, anyway…
#DirtyWater #DifferentHere pic.twitter.com/L39aYtLpRn
— Gethin Coolbaugh (@GethinCoolbaugh) August 13, 2024
With their promotion from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester, the long-awaited saviors of the Boston Red Sox franchise are knocking on the door of the major leagues.
No pressure…
And depending on who you ask, and I asked all three of them about it, they’re handling that pressure and those lofty expectations just fine.
“I mean, I would like to say like, yes, there is pressure, and it is uncomfortable,” Teel told me. “At the same time, I don’t look at that as something that’s negative by any means, you know? It’s just, you have to embrace that feeling and do what you’ve got to do every day.”
Teel is the newcomer despite being the eldest of the bunch at 22 years old. Drafted with the No. 14 overall pick in 2023, the organization’s No. 3 ranked prospect by MLB.com might very well be the one who is the most major-league ready — at least to my eye and ear.
“Big Three” first BP at @PolarPark. #DirtyWater pic.twitter.com/CvArFObliV
— Gethin Coolbaugh (@GethinCoolbaugh) August 13, 2024
And not only in terms of talent, but perhaps in terms of his mental approach as well. Some try to push back against the pressure, some try to brush it off, and some try to ignore it all together. Not Teel — his approach seems similar to that of WWE legend The Rock.
“Just Bring It.”
Mayer, meanwhile, has had plenty of experience with pressure in his life. Listening to him answer my question reminded me of another player who had long been in the limelight before making their professional debut — current Celtics villain (and perhaps future Red Sox owner) LeBron James.
“I always kind of make this joke. Nowadays there’s Perfect Game, all these ranking websites, so I’ve been ranked since I was like 5 years old,” Mayer said. “So you kind of grow up with that pressure, so it’s kind of nothing new.”
You can file Mayer's approach more in line with the “brush it off” category. But make no mistake, the 21-year-old top-ranked Red Sox prospect — and No. 6 overall in baseball — already knows the ultimate answer to dealing with high expectations.
“Yeah, for me, I was always taught the game, taught to play to win. So for me, that kind of takes all the pressure away,” Mayer said. “I know that if I’m trying to win the game, more times than not I’m going to try to do the right thing. So I don’t really try to think about how I’m going to play just because I’m so focused on the task that we have to complete.”
Laser focus is a great way to deal with pressure, and it’s encouraging to hear the centerpiece of the Sox’s rebuild — who was appropriately seated at the center of the three young budding stars during the presser — approaching the game that way.
Because one thing’s for sure when you’re playing in Boston: the pressure is going to be there, and the noise is going to get loud.
It’s not cut out for everyone.
Winning matters, and matters most, in Boston. But there’s another way to gain the approval of Red Sox fans, and it sounds like the direction Anthony might take.
“I think we’re just having fun, the three of us,” Anthony answered. “We just have to have fun, we have to play the game. It’s the same game we’ve been playing since we were five years old, like (Mayer just said). So nothing really changes.”
All three come across as focused competitors and good guys. But Anthony comes across to me as the most “fun-loving” of the bunch. And that’s a good thing, because there’s a long list of fun-loving Red Sox players who have won the hearts of Red Sox Nation.
“Obvious as you go up (the farm system) there’s more expectations, more cameras — as we can see right now,” Anthony acknowledged. “But nothing changes, we’re just going to go out there and have fun and continue to play the game the right way, and everything else will take care of itself.”
While all three were promoted together and shared a stage together — more like three chairs behind a WooSox backdrop — on Tuesday, the trio won’t necessarily be making their Worcester debut together.
Anthony and Teel were in the starting lineup for the series opener against Lehigh Valley, with Anthony batting leadoff in center field and Teel behind the plate and hitting fifth. Mayer is active, but recently returned from an IL stint due to hip soreness while with Portland.
Nevertheless, it appears these three are attached at the hip — and the Red Sox are fully willingly embracing it. It doesn’t seem like we’ll have to wait much longer until we hear the names “Mayer,” “Anthony” and “Teel” announced by Henry Mahegan at Fenway Park…
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.