Anderson excited for additions
Shortstop happy to have former teammates — and opponents — join team
White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson had a monster postseason, collecting nine hits in 14 at-bats in the American League wildcard series against the Oakland Athletics.
One of the hits came off reliever Liam Hendriks, a single in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the best-of-three series.
Anderson and Hendriks are now teammates after the Sox signed the closer to a four-year, $54 million deal on Jan. 15.
“I’m excited that he’s on the South Side with us and he’s going to bring a lot of depth to what we need,” Anderson said Thursday during a conference call.
“We’ve been looking for a guy like that and from the looks of it, it looks like he wants the ball every day and we saw that in the playoffs. Definitely want a guy like that on your squad.”
The Sox are looking to build off the 2020 postseason appearance, which ended with a Game 3 loss to the A’s.
“We remember what Oakland felt like,” Anderson said. “Just having a piece of the playoffs, it definitely makes you more hungry.
“So I can only imagine what winning the World Series feels like. That just makes me hungry there. (I’m) just trying to stay motivated and continue to push to the ultimate goal.”
The Sox have been one of the busiest teams in baseball this offseason, adding Hendriks and outfielder Adam Eaton via free agency and pitcher Lance Lynn through a trade.
“Every guy we signed is going to help us,” Anderson said. “If that (wasn’t) the case, we wouldn’t have went out and signed them.
“Those guys have been around. You know the history on those guys. You’ve seen what they have done over the years.
“Playing with Eaton when I first got up and seeing what he’s about and facing Lance Lynn. You know, he couldn’t beat me so he had to join me —no, I’m just playing.
“(I’m) definitely excited. A big arm and he’s competitive. All those guys are competitive and they are definitely going to help us. I’m looking forward to just being in the mix with them. I think it’s going to be great. I hope so.”
The Sox also made some changes to the coaching staff, led by replacing manager Rick Renteria with Tony La Russa.
“We’ve been texting back and forth,” Anderson said of La Russa. “(The managerial change) was a little confusing at first because I built something with Ricky that was very special. Ricky’s been there since I got there, and it’s always definitely weird when you try something new.
“But I’m definitely open with Tony. We’re definitely going to build from zero. I never met him. I don’t know him so I can’t go off of what people say.
“I’m excited, to learn from him. There’s a reason he has been in the game for a while and a reason he’s been so successful in his career. So I’m definitely interested in learning from him, and hopefully we can make this as smooth and positive as we can.”
Anderson was the AL Silver Slugger Award winner at shortstop and finished seventh in the AL MVP voting in 2020. He received a different type of recognition Thursday, being named the cover athlete for the “RBI Baseball 21” video game.
He looked at the honor as another opportunity to “be the best example that I can to the youth.”
Anderson said he’s “in a great spot” with his preparation for the upcoming spring training.
“I just think it’s all in the mind,” he said. “I’ve been working on myself, being in a good position to be in attack mode when time is ready.”
Anderson is also ready for the higher expectations that the team will be facing.
“It’s always the goal to win a World Series, not going to shy away from that,” he said. “I know what we can do and what the goal is.
“We’re going to go out and give it everything we’ve got and hopefully we can reach that goal, and if not we’ll continue to work and hopefully we can one day.”