“Excited about Ian”
Shenendehowa graduate Ian Anderson has settled into Atlanta Braves spring training with hopes of building on an impressive rookie season.
Shenendehowa graduate Ian Anderson has settled into Atlanta Braves spring training in Venice, Fla.
He reported there last week after a two-day drive from New York. He’s living with teammate Mike Soroka, a pairing of two very talented young pitchers.
“It’s good,” Anderson said during a Zoom call on Monday. “My girlfriend is down here, too, and we have a dog, so it’s a lot of just playing with him and hanging out. We’ve been watching some (television) shows. We’re into ‘Peaky Blinders’ lately, so that’s kind of been our binge watch. And been cooking some good meals, so it’s been good so far.”
While Anderson, 22, is enjoying his spare time with his Goldendoodle, Wally, and catching up on a British TV show about an early-1900s crime family, he hasn’t forgotten his main purpose for being in Florida.
He’s trying to build on an impressive rookie season that saw him go 3-2 with a 1.95 earned-average as a midyear call-up during the pandemic-shortened season. He helped pitch the Braves all the way to the National League Championship Series and started Game 7, which Atlanta lost 4-3 to the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
“It definitely feels a bit different (in spring training) with everything that
happened last year and having that experience, coming in and knowing the guys a little bit better,” Anderson said. “I just feel like I have a better feel for what it’s going to take and I feel like I’m not going to try to jump into things too quickly. Kind of go at my own pace and just do what I have to get done.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker had a dugout seat to watch Anderson win his first two major league starts at home against the Yankees and at Fenway Park against the Red Sox, his favorite childhood team.
Then Snitker saw Anderson win his first two postseason starts against the Reds and Marlins on his way to a playoff scoreless streak of 181⁄3 innings, the second-longest in Braves’ history.
“I’m excited about Ian,” Snitker said. “I think he is, too. He should have a lot of confidence. He should feel really good about himself. The experiences he had to draw on, I mean, it’s something you can’t replicate what he went through. … The stuff he went through is invaluable in a kid’s development.”
Anderson said he spent the offseason working out, throwing and spending time with his family, his girlfriend and, of course, his dog.
He said he focused on endurance work to be ready for more than the 51 innings he threw
last season.
“It was a good time to sit back, reflect and kind of get back to work,” Anderson said. “This offseason was a great time to look back at some things and be proud of what I accomplished, but also figure out what I need to work on moving forward and what’s going to help me down the road.”
He’s working on sharpening his breaking ball.
Rather than worrying about a sophomore slump, Anderson plans to continue the development he showed last season in falling just one game short of a World Series.
“One of the things I kind of
noticed looking back through video and as the season went on last year was just how much more comfortable I got,” he said. “The relationship with the catchers was getting that much better. I think it’s more of a process of just getting more comfortable with my pitches. I like that chess match of figuring out what to throw to guys, what’s going on game to game, at-bat to at-bat. I definitely like to think out there and I think that can help me and that can help me get ahead of the curve a little bit.”