Red Sox Rookies Face Massive Coffee Run Prank
Boston Red Sox rookie outfielder Roman Anthony learned the hard way that a simple conversation about coffee with pitcher Walker Buehler could turn into a major task. What started as casual talk during Spring Training quickly became a logistical headache when Anthony and rookie shortstop Marcelo Mayer were assigned the responsibility of picking up, buying, and delivering 76 different coffee orders for the entire Red Sox organization the next day.
“I thought it was a joke,” Anthony admitted, “until it wasn’t.”
A Coffee Order That Kept Growing
Buehler ensured that the task was taken seriously, instructing the young players to gather coffee for everyone, from the coaches to the clubhouse staff. As the realization sank in, Anthony turned to his roommate, fellow top prospect Marcelo Mayer, for help.
“He’s like, ‘We have to get coffee for every single person in the org,’” Mayer recalled. “And I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ He shows me a list. There were 40 coffee orders already.”
Adding to the difficulty was the fact that everyone had a specific way they wanted their coffee prepared—no simple batch orders of black coffee.
Preparing for the Coffee Chaos
Realizing the scale of their assignment, Anthony and Mayer took preemptive action. The night before, they drove to a nearby Starbucks to warn the staff about the enormous order.
“I’m like, ‘You better bring your A squad tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. because we’re ordering 76 coffees,’” Mayer said. “They weren’t just all black coffees, everyone had a separate order.”
The Starbucks staff proved up to the challenge. At 4:30 a.m., Anthony and Mayer arrived to place the orders. “They did a very good job of pumping them out,” Anthony said. “It was crazy.”
“You’d think they did that every morning,” Mayer added. “They were really good.”
Unexpected Credit Card Issues
As if handling 76 custom coffee orders wasn’t complicated enough, Anthony encountered an unexpected financial snag. Since each cup needed to have a specific name on it, he had to read off every order and pay for them individually. After about 20 transactions, his credit card was declined, forcing Mayer to cover the rest of the order, which totaled more than $600.
Only afterward did Mayer realize he had missed a golden opportunity. “I should have used the Starbucks app,” he said. “I would have had free coffee for a month.”
The Delicate Delivery Mission
Transporting 19 trays of coffee proved just as challenging as ordering them. The rookies took extreme precautions to ensure the drinks made it back intact.
“We were literally driving to the field with our hazard lights on, going like 15 mph because we had 76 coffees in the back. It was honestly pretty funny,” Mayer said.
In the end, while the experience was chaotic, the rookies took it in stride. At least, as Mayer pointed out, they weren’t forced to dress up like penguins as part of their rookie duties.