Black MLB Players #6: Tim Anderson
Tim Anderson is a shortstop from Tuscaloosa, Alabama that plays for the Chicago White Sox. He is 6’1’’, 195 pounds, bats/throws right handed, and is lean and wiry. Anderson has been labeled as a great teammate on & off the field, leading by example and garnering the respect of his teammates through vocal leadership.
Looking at Tim Anderson’s path to being a professional baseball player, the first impression it would give you is that baseball chose him, not the other way around. Anderson was among the best high school basketball players in the state of Alabama, leading Hillcrest High in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to a state championship. He didn’t begin to play baseball until his junior year of high school, starting in left field and batting .333 for the season. He transitioned to the infield his senior year of high school and hit for a .420 average.
East Central Community College was the only college to give him a scholarship offer, and he made the most of the opportunity. In his freshman season and third year of playing baseball, Anderson batted .360 with four home runs, 37 RBI, and stealing 30 bases with an 100% success rate, never getting caught. Returning to ECCC for his sophomore year, he led all junior college baseball players across the nation in batting average, hitting .495 and breaking out as a talented college baseball player and potential draft pick. Anderson was named a first-team National Junior College Athletic Association Division II All-American for 2013. He committed as a transfer to University of Alabama @ Birmingham, but was drafted by the Chicago White Sox with the 17th overall pick of the 2013 MLB Draft, signing for $2,164,000 instead of enrolling at UAB.
After tearing through the minor leagues, Tim Anderson made his major league debut on June 10th, 2016. He played 99 games at the major league level, finishing 7th in American League Rookie of the Year voting after posting a .283/.306/.432 slashline with 22 doubles, 6 triples, 9 home runs, and 10 stolen bases.
After the 2016 season, he signed an extension with the Chicago White Sox for 6 years/$25 million dollars, entrenching him as their shortstop of the future. For the 2017 & 2018 seasons, Anderson’s rawness as a baseball player was on display in the midst of the power/speed potential he’d show from time to time. Major league pitchers used his aggressive approach against him, as he posted below average stat-lines for both seasons. In 2019 Anderson broke out in a huge way, leading the entire MLB in batting average by hitting .355 with power, going for 32 doubles and 18 home runs in 123 games after missing around thirty games with an ankle injury. Anderson’s improved results can be traced to a better approach at the plate, making more quality contact, and using his top tier athleticism to refine his swing mechanics in order to put together more competitive at bats.
Being an outgoing centerpiece and leader of a young White Sox squad with plenty of talent, Tim Anderson checks all the boxes of a player that you should keep your eye on. Time warping athleticism, work ethic & leadership, interacting with reporters/press, etc. Tim Anderson’s path to baseball stardom in one of the largest markets in the nation for sports is unique, but also becoming more common for African-American baseball players. Anderson is somewhat of a throwback to the black baseball players of the Negro Leagues, entertaining fans with emotion and flair that rubs the more traditional and/or withdrawn demographics of baseball the wrong way. In my opinion, baseball needs polarizing players to stir up a fuss in order to bring more attention to the game as a whole based on the current state, and a talented black player playing for the beloved ball club on Chicago’s south side is just what the doctor ordered!
