More than a bat boy: How UNC baseball pays tribute to late fan at College World Series

Scott Forbes ran back into the dugout. There was something he needed to grab.

UNC had just topped West Virginia, 2-1, in its second win of the Chapel Hill Super Regional Saturday night, sending the Tar Heels to their first College World Series since 2018.

The players jumped up and down. They dog-piled. But Forbes, in the biggest moment of his head coaching tenure at UNC, was nowhere to be found.

When Forbes emerged from the dugout, he held a photograph. Although he was immediately doused by a cooler of water, he kept his prized possession dry.

The photo in question? Swiped from the dugout bulletin board, Forbes clutched a picture of Jacob Ray “J.R.” Anton in a UNC hat. As he lifted it up — away from his now-drenched uniform — the players began to cheer, clap and point.

Anton, roundly referred to as simply J.R., was a North Carolina program fixture for the past 18 years. He was a fan, bat boy and friend to hundreds of players who came to know him through yearly visits.

On May 6, he died peacefully and unexpectedly in his sleep at his home in Omaha, Nebraska. He was 31. The exact cause of death is still unknown, although his parents said it likely resulted due to heart problems.

His mother, Kim Anton, said seeing UNC’s postseason success has been emotional — both happy and sad. She wishes he was here to see this.

In many ways, though, J.R. has been present.

“JR” is scrawled across the hats of the UNC players and coaching staff. They’ve even made stickers bearing his name for polo shirts and uniforms.

And then, there are the intangibles.

North Carolina’s postseason has been defined by what players, coaches and fans — hungry for a program-first national championship — call “Bosh magic.” Wire-to-wire wins. Walk-off home runs. In fact, half of the Tar Heels’ last eight wins have come in their last at-bat.

Look around. J.R.’s still there.

“I know that part of that magic that they say is in that stadium comes from that young man,” Kim said, “Because that’s all he wanted was for that team to come here and win a national championship his whole life.”

‘Somehow we ended up in the dugout’

The Tar Heels first came to know J.R. in 2006.

They were in Omaha for the College World Series. Mike Fox, the then-head coach, said J.R. immediately stood out.

He was 13 at the time and absolutely decked out — dressed head-to-toe in Carolina blue. But, more than that, J.R. didn’t look like the other kids. That’s because he had Hunter Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes large sugar molecules to build up in the body.

Hunter Syndrome impacted J.R. every day. He had stiff joints. He stood at just 5-foot-1. He had hearing issues and wore aids. J.R. had two artificial heart valves — one of the multiple surgeries he underwent as a child.

J.R. was introduced to UNC when he visited Chapel Hill as part of a medical study beginning in 2004. And now, the Tar Heels were in his hometown of Omaha, practicing at Millard West High School — just two miles from J.R.’s house.

“Somehow we ended up in the dugout, which nobody else did,” said Walt Anton, J.R.’s father. “But J.R. always had a way to finagle himself in the middle of stuff.”

Soon it became routine. Players like Chad Flack got accustomed to getting off the bus for practice and seeing J.R. The Tar Heels made it back to Omaha in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and J.R. was there every single time.

To this day, Fox jokes J.R. knew the practice schedule better than the team.

And he and the players were better for it.

“I think the smile, the positive energy that he brought to every day of life was something that rubbed off with our teams as we got to know him during those four years,” Flack said.

‘That’s what we call him’

It was a typical occurrence in the Anton household to come home from work and hear J.R. screaming and yelling.

“If he was standing in the middle of the living room with his hat on backwards,” Walt said, “I knew it wasn’t good.”

Turn to the television and there it was — a midweek UNC baseball game. Thankfully for the much-loathed umpires, roughly 1,205 miles separated J.R. from Boshamer Stadium. Watching from home, J.R. still cheered as if he was there.

And he knew every single player’s nickname. Current outfielder Casey Cook was called “Cook-ee.” Former infielder and current Chicago Cub Michael Busch was “Busch-ee.”

Star center fielder Vance Honeycutt? No, that’s Honey.

“It was never, ‘That’s what they call him,’” Walt said. “It was always ‘Oh, that’s what we call him.’”

That’s because J.R. was part of the team. He even signed with the Tar Heels as an “Honorary Team Member” on his birthday in 2017. There’s paperwork to prove it. And, of course, a photo his parents still keep of J.R. holding his contract in the middle of the dugout, surrounded by the players, or rather, his teammates.

“It still gets to me that every picture I look at of J.R….” Walt said, his voice trailing off.

“He’s grinning from ear-to-ear,” Kim said, waiting for Walt to collect himself.

“The biggest smiles of any of the pictures I see of J.R.,” Walt said, “Are the pictures of when he’s in North Carolina with the players.”

‘We just could not have a straight face’

In 2014, when J.R. visited Chapel Hill, outfielder Skye Bolt offered up his apartment.

Instead of staying in a hotel with his family, J.R. lived the typical college experience for the week — nightlife and all.

From there, the two built a close bond. Bolt said he became “big brother” and J.R. became “little brother,” though both were in their early 20s.

J.R.’s visits turned into tradition. Every year, the team tried to fly J.R. and Kim out to Chapel Hill. Oftentimes, just as he did with Bolt, J.R. crashed with a player.

Outside of UNC, J.R. was a man with a rare genetic disorder. Dr. Joseph Muenzer, a leading figure in Hunter Syndrome research, estimates there are less than 500 patients like J.R. in the country.

But in Chapel Hill, during those visits, he was just one of the guys.

He cracked jokes. He slept on a futon in Avery Residence Hall and played Madden NFL late into the night — only to be interrupted by a trip to Cook Out.

“He never wanted to go to bed,” former UNC outfielder Brian Miller said. “He was just always down to do whatever we wanted to do.”

Miller still remembers the day he brought J.R. to his ECON 101 course — a typically boring, giant lecture hall affair.

“We just could not have a straight face in class,” Miller said. “It was so fun.”

Off to Omaha

There was a buzz on the concourse as fans gathered to send the Tar Heels off to Omaha on Tuesday. Soon, the players emerged and began high-fiving supporters.

Then came Forbes. He was the slowest of the bunch, stopping multiple times to take photos and sign baseballs.

Make no mistake, J.R. was there.

Forbes paused before boarding the bus, just outside the Boshamer Stadium gates. He reached into his over-the-shoulder bag and pulled out an unassuming white binder — his 2024 gameday notebook.

There he was. J.R.’s photo was prominently displayed on the first page. Tucked away but not out of reach.

The photo was taken when J.R. left Boshamer Stadium on his annual trip in March.

This year’s visit was a bit different. It was his first since 2019. Terri Jo Rucinski, the team’s head athletic trainer, said J.R. was a bit shy at first. He wasn’t as familiar with the guys this time around. But make no mistake, J.R. knew every player’s name — and nickname — by the end of the week.

When he left, it was more of the same. The same tears welled up his eyes as his favorite week of the year came to a close. Home Run Remington, a service dog belonging to Rucinski, was there to cheer up J.R.

Moments later, Rucinski snapped the photo — the one that graced the dugout bulletin board and now Forbes’ folder in Omaha.

In it, J.R.’s wearing his UNC hat. His watch, backpack and suitcase are all matching in Carolina blue. Remington is seated at his feet.

“This is not goodbye,” Rucinski said to him at the time. “We’re gonna see you in Omaha.”

And, in many ways, J.R. will still be there. His photo right next to the game notes. His name scrawled on the hats and adorning stickers pressed to polo shirts and uniforms.

More than anything, he will be on the hearts and minds of the entire team as the Tar Heels compete for a long-elusive national championship in his hometown.

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This story was originally published June 13, 2024 at 7:00 AM.