Can Sox’s Anderson reach another level?
This is the seventh in a series of position-by-position analyses of the White Sox after the 2020 season. Here are four questions about Sox shortstops.
1. What numbers illustrate the ways Tim Anderson elevated his game to another level in 2020?
After a breakout 2019 season in which he led the majors with a .335 batting average, Anderson built on that success in 2020. Here are a few of the more impressive hitting numbers from his phenomenal season.
■ Anderson was in the running for his second consecutive American League batting title for most of the season before finishing second with a .322 average. He was just .002 off the major-league lead before a 3-for-33 slide in the final eight games dropped his average from .366 to .322.
■ Anderson hit left-handed pitching particularly hard. He slashed .449/.509/1.000 (22-for-49) with seven doubles, six home runs and 12 RBIs against lefties. He led the AL in slugging and OPS (1.509) against lefties and ranked second behind the Minnesota Twins’ Nelson Cruz in average and on-base percentage.
■ The .449 average against lefties set a franchise record, breaking Avisail Garcia’s .424 mark in 2017.
■ Anderson also had his way against the Detroit Tigers. He slashed .513/.548/.974 (20-for-39) against them with five home runs, 10 RBIs and 17 runs in nine games. The .974 slugging percentage and 1.522 OPS were franchise records against the Tigers, while the .513 average was the second-best mark in Sox history behind RayMorehart (.514) in 1926.
■ Anderson rebounded from his late slump with three fantastic games against the Oakland Athletics in the AL wild-card series. He had nine hits and became just the third Sox player with three consecutive multihit games in the postseason, joining Rudy Lawin 1983 and Joe Jackson in 1919.
“These are the moments youwant to be in,” Anderson said after the 6-4 loss in Game 3 on Oct. 1 in Oakland, Calif. “Who’s going to come up big? Who’s going to get that big hit? It’s all about those moments, and you never want to turn away from those moments. That’s how you stamp your name, that’s howyou carry your team aswell.
“Just got to keep going, continue to be a great teammate, continue to lead and try to guide these guys in the right direction. Hopefully we’ll be having this same conversation next year but on the other end.”
The way he rebounded in the postseason is a good sign for the future in terms of excelling on the big stage and making adjustments.
2. What type of spark did Anderson provide at the top of the lineup?
Anderson led off the Aug. 12 game in Detroit with a home run.
“I definitely wanted to start the party,” he said after the game.
It was one of three leadoff homers this season for Anderson, tied for second in the AL in that category.
Anderson set the table throughout the season. When leading off an inning, he had a .361/.384/.651 slash line (30-for-83) with five home runs.
And even though he missed time because of a right groin strain, Anderson tied for first in the AL with 45 runs in 49 games. He joinedJohnnyMostil (135 in 1925) andFrank Thomas(106 in 1994) as the only Sox players to lead the league in runs.
The Sox went 5-5 while Anderson was on the injured list in early August. They won 14 of the next 18 when he returned.
Anderson might have summed up his impact best after the 4-for-5 performance Aug. 12 against the Tigers at Comerica Park.
“The Energizer Bunny, baby,” Anderson said. “Just my presence, being in that lineup, definitelymade the guys go.”
Thatwas the case all season.
3. Howdid Anderson do defensively?
Anderson put an emphasis on improving defensively after leading the majors with 26 errors in 2019. And he showed signs of improvement, finishing with six errors.
His defensive runs saved, according to Fangraphs.com, went from minus-12 to plus-3.
“I want to continue to get better and keep learning this game as I grow,” Anderson said Sept. 14 of the defensive strides he has made.
4. What is the depth chart like?
While Anderson was on the injured list Aug. 1-10 with a right groin strain, Leury Garcia made nine starts at shortstop and DannyMendick made one.
The Sox hold a $3.5 million team option on Garcia for 2021. Mendick filled in at second and shortstop before being optioned to Schaumburg on Sept. 17.
Yolmer Sanchez, who is arbitrationeligible, made one start at shortstop when Anderson rested the day after the Sox clinched their first playoff spot since 2008.
Anderson missed more than a month in 2019 with a sprained right ankle. He batted .357 in the 53 games after his return to join LukeAppling (.388 in 1936) as the only Sox players to lead the majors in batting.
And as 2020 showed, having a healthy Anderson in the lineup is critical to the team’s success.