In 1986, Anthony was an 18-year-old Sharpstown High School dropout working on an assembly line at a Houston plastics company.

In desperate need of power-hitters, with only first baseman Glenn Davis hitting more than 13 home runs for the team that season, the Astros took a gamble and called Anthony up to the majors from Double-A in late July 1989.

The home run, a 414-foot shot off the San Francisco Giants' Rick Reuschel, easily cleared the Astrodome fences.

[citation needed] For his first three seasons in the big leagues, Anthony shuttled between Triple-A Tucson and Houston, dominating minor-league pitching but never managing to hit over .200 at the MLB level.

He followed that with a 15 HR, 66 RBI performance in 1993, and although he improved his batting average 10 points to .249 that season, he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners in the offseason for young lefthanded pitcher Mike Hampton.