Tim Anderson added to American League All-Star roster.
BALTIMORE — White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson put together another All-Star-type performance Friday, contributing to the team’s first five runs.
He singled and scored in the third and fifth innings. He drove in two with a double in the sixth and scored again on a walk.
After the 12-1 victory against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, Anderson found out he had been added to the American League All-Star roster.
It will be his first trip to the All-Star Game, which is Tuesday at Coors Field in Denver.
“I’m happy, I’ve been working my whole career, my whole life to get to this point,” Anderson said before Saturday’s game against the Orioles. “Now I have to continue to keep working.
“Finally get All-Star under my belt. That’s pretty cool.”
Anderson is slashing .310/.348/.428 with six home runs and 32 RBIs in 73 games. The 2019 batting champion is sixth in the AL in the category this season.
“It’s going good,” Anderson said of his 2021 season. “For the third straight year, just to continue to keep growing as a player and as a person. The numbers are there, the game is there. I don’t really have to say much. If you watch White Sox baseball every game, you know what I’m coming to the field to do and what I’m capable of doing.
“It’s even sweeter because I came up in this organization, to grow up in front of these fans in this organization says a lot. The grind is real. I put the work in. I continue to try to get better day in and day out. And it don’t stop. I have to keep pushing to be the best I can be.”
Anderson made a splash with his bat flips and has continued to hit, setting a spark at the top of the lineup.
“To be myself, always kept it 100, kept it real, I never switched, I always stayed me throughout it all,” Anderson said. “Just go out and work every day, bring what I got to the ballpark day in and day out. Couldn’t be in a better place right now.”
Anderson went 1-for-5 Saturday, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. He is 20-for-49 (.408) with five doubles and six RBIs during the stretch.
Manager Tony La Russa pointed to Anderson’s impact beyond the field.
“Tim has grown into a true leader in every respect,” La Russa said. “He leads with his spirit, he leads with his work ethic, he leads before and after the game.”
Anderson is the fourth Sox player on the AL All-Star roster, joining starters Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodón and closer Liam Hendriks. Anderson said he didn’t get frustrated or upset when he wasn’t on the initial roster. He received support from the likes of Hall of Famer Frank Thomas.
“I did talk to Frank Thomas about the situation,” Anderson said. “I appreciated him speaking out for me. But I always kept working, I always let my game do the talking, not really talk about things that are out of my control. All I can do is control the way I play and the way I go about my business.
“To finally be able to get in, it definitely means a lot, and I’m excited and I’m going to go there with the same energy I have here, enjoy it. Not everybody gets to be All-Stars, so I’m very excited. Proud. Proud of this moment.”
Third base coach Joe McEwing announced the news to the team after Friday’s game.
“To see how far he has come to get to this point,” McEwing said. “Looking back at the journey and the path to see where he is now. Such an honor to be mentioned with the best in baseball, and it’s well deserved.
“I couldn’t be happier, more proud of one individual in my life.”
La Russa said of the scene after McEwing’s announcement: “The explosion of the emotions in that clubhouse, it was just overjoy throughout every person on that roster for Tim because of what he’s done to earn it and what everybody feels for him. It was one of the best experiences I can remember. I’ve had a lot of great ones. it’s right there tied with the other ones.”
Anderson is looking forward to everything the event has to offer.
“(It’s) the first one,” Anderson said. “Hopefully I can have a good experience with my wife and kids and soak up the moment. Enjoy it all and come back ready for the second half and keep pushing.”