The early portion of the 2019 season has already been remarkable for Tim Anderson. Aside from his early season success on the diamond, he flew home from a game in Cleveland on April 3rd to welcome the birth of his second daughter, Paxton. The 26-year-old shortstop is no doubt riding high to begin this year’s campaign.
Photo: Chicago Tribune
When Tim Anderson was called up to the White Sox from Triple-A Charlotte in 2016, he was immediately plugged into the starting shortstop role. Since that day on June 10th, he has not looked back. Now, sitting here nearly three years later, and Tim Anderson is statistically the best hitter in Major League Baseball with an astounding .514 batting average in 37 plate appearances. Step aside Cody Bellinger.
Timmy started out the season batting a solid .333 average with 4 hits in 12 at bats. Then after missing two games in Cleveland on paternity leave, Anderson showed up to the South Side for the home opener series red hot. He went 10-for-13 with 2 home runs, 4 RBIs, and 6 runs scored against the Mariners in a three-game set. Then Tampa Bay came to town and Anderson continued to put the bat on the ball going 5-for-12 and 1 stolen base in each game.
While Anderson’s slash line of .514/.526/.730 is impossible to keep throughout the course of a season, he shows no signs of slowing down. He can very well find himself in an American League All-Star jersey representing the White Sox at Progressive Field in July, should he continue to do what he’s doing. For comparison, here is where Anderson ranks compared to the rest of the MLB in a few categories: 1st in batting average, 2nd in on-base percentage, 6th in hits, T-4th in stolen bases, and 13th in slugging percentage. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Photo: Chicago Tribne
However, aside from all of the eye-popping numbers that Tim Anderson has put up this year, he brings something way more valuable to the table on a team looking to contend in the near future: leadership. From the first pitch of Timmy’s sophomore season, we have watched him not only grow as a player but as a leader and a tremendous clubhouse presence. The energy and swagger that he brings to the table each and every game has been paramount for this team and watching him pimp big moment home runs have been some of the brightest moments on the South Side in recent memory. He brings excitement to a team that desperately needs it and has been lacking it, especially coming off back-to-back 100 loss seasons.
Overall, the White Sox got their guy at shortstop for years to come and I believe many Sox fans agree that there is nobody they would rather have manning that position other than TA7. In every one of his seasons since being up with the team, he has either shown great strides defensively or offensively. Prepare yourself for another huge year from Tim Anderson as he looks to continue to build off the hottest start in the majors, and improve on what will be a legacy for years to come on 35th and Shields. Ride with us or get run over.
Featured Photo: USA Today
Too bad he cant pitch