This Tim Anderson career stat is absolutely insane to see
Tim Anderson really had some struggles early on in his Major League Baseball career. He had some ups and downs both on and off the field before the 2019 season where he really had his true breakout year for the Chicago White Sox. The previous years showed us flashes but he became a superstar that year. From that point on, he has been the face of the franchise in a lot of ways.
Anderson has a certain attitude that is just very relatable. People enjoy watching him speak and give his thoughts on things just as much as they do watch him play. He is everything this team needs leading the way and then some.
As important as Anderson is for a lot of those things, he needs to be an outstanding baseball player as well. As mentioned already, he has been since 2019. In 2021, he was so good that he finally made it to his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game. That achievement looks really nice with his Silver Slugger and Batting Title that he has.
In 2021, he slashed .309/.338/.469 for an OPS of .806. He had 17 home runs, 62 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, and 94 runs scored. Simply put, he is one of the best leadoff hitters in the sport. He is also a fantastic shortstop these days which wasn’t always the case. Everything he does on the field helps the White Sox win which is why he had a 4.8 WAR on the year.
There is one Tim Anderson career stat that is crazy for the Chicago White Sox.
Of all the good things about Anderson, there is one stat that stood out as crazy. It is well known that Anderson is a very aggressive hitter. You can expect him to be swinging early and often in the batter’s box. It is mostly a good thing when he does this, especially in the first at-bat of the game as he likes to jump on them early.
Over half of Tim Anderson’s career plate appearances were over by the 3rd pitch. There have been 2933 of them so far which is a whole lot for a six-year veteran. Over half of 2933 plate appearances means that there have been at least 1466 at-bats from Anderson that ended early which is crazy.
Leading off a baseball game is something that he takes pride in. Getting on base (or hitting a home run) with some of the monsters that follow is really smart for Anderson. There is a reason that he scored 94 runs this season in 123 games played. Hopefully, he keeps doing whatever he is doing because that leadoff production helps them so much.