In the hours before taking the biggest stage of his baseball life — so far — Roman Anthony warmed up next to Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper.
He took batting practice with Alex Bregman and Gunnar Henderson, chatted between rounds with Kyle Schwarber and Cal Raleigh, and accepted an enthusiastic greeting from Hall of Famer CC Sabathia.
Then game time came and he took the field, batting seventh and playing left behind Paul Skenes for the United States, against Juan Soto and the Dominican Republic, in an all-time semifinal in the World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
It looked right. It felt normal. In an intense environment, Anthony behaved the way he always behaves — easy, level, chill — and played the way he so often plays, hammering the go-ahead, eventual-game-deciding home run in the fourth inning of Team USA’s 2-1 triumph.
Seventy-one games into his career, Anthony, Red Sox franchise cornerstone, is exactly where he belongs: among the stars.
Read Tim Healey's full story at BostonGlobe.com/Sports. | 
