The sister of Red Sox right fielder Roman Anthony, Lia Anthony, has become an overnight sensation after going viral on social media during her brother's second game at Fenway Park against the Tampa Bay Rays. Lia shared her excitement about the experience, revealing that she received “quite a few DMs” after her appearance on Tuesday night.
During an interview on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Thursday, Lia described her time at Fenway Park as an “unreal experience.” Since the game, her Instagram follower count skyrocketed from 3,000 to over 14,000, and she expressed her disbelief at this rapid growth. “Wow, I mean it’s been surreal,” said Lia, a recent graduate of Florida State University. “It’s crazy… I’ve gotten quite a few DMs since that night.”
As her Instagram followers continued to climb, reaching over 16,000 on Thursday, Lia shared that while she received a variety of messages, some were quite humorous. “I got a couple baseball DMs,” she mentioned. “But it was funny, somebody said something about how they accidentally hit their baseball in my DMs and asked me to throw it back.” Lia’s playful interactions with her new followers reflect the light-hearted nature of her newfound social media fame.
Lia was at Fenway Park enjoying the game with her family, including her parents, Lori and Anthony Sr., and her brother, Anthony Jr., who is affectionately known as Tony. Despite the viral attention, Lia noted that her brother was focused on his own debut and the larger journey ahead of him. “I think he definitely was shocked. We all were,” Lia said, expressing the family's collective disbelief at the sudden attention. “But he’s got bigger things to focus on, so he’s just been focusing on his debut and everything.”
One of the highlights of their Fenway experience was meeting MLB legend David Ortiz. Lia shared, “Oh my gosh. The people were amazing. It was an incredible experience. This was my first time in Boston, and I had never been to Fenway. The Red Sox brought us to meet David Ortiz, and it was just an unreal experience.”
Lia recounted how their mother, Lori, was particularly touched by the encounter. “David Ortiz shared a couple of words with her, talking about how incredible Roman is and how he’ll be the face of the franchise,” Lia explained. “It’s all just so surreal to hear that, especially about your brother, who you’ve grown up watching and supported his whole life. The whole thing is just surreal.”
As Roman Anthony continues to make waves in the MLB, his sister Lia’s viral moment adds another layer of excitement and support for the young athlete. Fans can look forward to more memorable moments as the Anthony family navigates this thrilling chapter in their lives.
