3 greatest Tim Anderson moments with the White Sox
By now, you heard that Tim Anderson won’t be returning to the Chicago White Sox this season. They declined to pick up his 2024 option and he is now a free agent.
There was a point where Tim Anderson was the best player on the team and the face of the franchise. He kind of went from being the fan favorite to being the scapegoat in a short amount of time.
Over the years, however, it is clear that Anderson had some good moments with the club. There are always going to be a lot of memories there that people will look back on fondly.
People might remember some memories more than others but there are tons to choose from. Most of them will make us wish things worked out differently but it is what it is. These are the three best Tim Anderson moments in a White Sox uniform:
1. Bat Flip
The Tim Anderson "bat flip" was an iconic moment for him in his career.
During an early season game back in April of 2019, the Chicago White Sox were on the come-up. They weren’t great yet but there was a lot of talent starting to accumulate at that point and Tim Anderson was in the middle of it all.
Early in the game, Anderson hit his 50th career home run off of Brad Keller and he chucked his bat toward the dugout. He was very excited about it which was obvious. Clearly, Keller and the Royals did not like it one bit.
In Tim's next at-bat, he was beaned and it caused a benches clearing argument. Four ejections came of this skirmish. It eventually led to Tim Anderson's rise to stardom in the league. From there, everyone knew who he was and that the White Sox were coming.
Make no mistake about it, the White Sox were really good at times in 2019 and all of 2020 and 2021. Tim Anderson was the leader of it and it all started with this coming out moment.
2. Batting Title
Tim Anderson won the batting title which showed how good he was.
Batting average is not the stat that it used to be. You can't really tell how impactful of a hitter someone is based on that.
For example, Andrew Benintendi's batting average was comparable to Luis Robert Jr.'s in 2023. However, Luis Robert Jr. was an MVP-caliber hitter and Benintendi was borderline bad.
With that said, leading the league in average is something to be proud of as long as everything else offensively is working for you too.
That was the case for Anderson in 2019 when he was the batting champion. His .335 average was worth celebrating that year.
It was also the first of a few awards handed out to White Sox players during the rebuild. It was a massive failure in the end but that three-year stretch from 2019 to 2021 was very fun. Anderson winning the batting title was very cool and a top moment he had with the White Sox.
3. Field of Dreams Game
Tim Anderson's best moment with the White Sox is incredibly obvious.
The Chicago White Sox played against the New York Yankees in 2021 at the Field of Dreams. It turned out to be one of the greatest regular season games in the history of the franchise because of how it went on the national stage.
Playing in the middle of an Iowa cornfield, the Chicago White Sox actually blew a lead to the New York Yankees who also had a stacked starting lineup at the time. It looked like they were going to lose when they blew the lead in the 9th inning.
Eventually, however, some magic happened in the bottom of the ninth. Seby Zavala walked which allowed Tim Anderson to come up and bat. He hit a walk-off home run at the Field of Dreams to send the White Sox home as winners in the most dramatic fashion.
To be honest with you, it was the signature moment of the entire rebuild. Everyone who is a Chicago White Sox fan enjoyed this one and it was one of the most spectacular shows that the league has put on in years. It is a moment that people will remember forever.
It is sad to see Anderson go. He was a great player that was incredibly marketable for a while. It was his time but it is also fair to look back on these moments with a smile. Hopefully, he will have success with whatever is next for him.
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