Anderson’s rocky road to majors pays off in opener
The first relief pitcher the Marlins used in the 2019 season waited almost a decade for the opportunity.
With José Ureña struggling in the fifth inning of an eventual 6-3 loss to the Rockies on Tuesday, Nick Anderson clamored up to the mound from the bullpen. The 28-year-old rookie relief pitcher, whose career began in 2012 with two bad seasons in the independent Frontier League and eight days in jail for a felony assault charge in 2011, was tasked with stopping Opening Day for the Marlins from getting out of hand.
“I’m not going to lie, my heart rate was a little up, but honestly it was more excitement,” Anderson said after the game, “like, ‘Hey, I’m here. Here’s my opportunity.’ ”
Anderson faced one batter and did the job he was asked. With a runner on second, Anderson threw two pitches and got Ryan
Nick Anderson, a 28-year-old rookie relief pitcher, spent time in independent ball and jail in an improbable rise to the major leagues. He made a successful debut on Opening Day by helping the Marlins out of a jam.
McMahon to ground out to shortstop to end the inning. He kept the Marlins’ deficit at 6-0 after Ureña, who got hit by a line drive in the second inning, ran into trouble.
It wasn’t the easiest way to get into a game for the first time, which is just fine for Anderson. In his first two seasons in the Frontier League, Anderson had an ERA worse than 6.00 before he finally did enough to impress the Minnesota Twins in his third year. He steadily rose through the Twins system, culminating with his 3.30 ERA last year in Triple A. Miami acquired him in a trade in the fall, and Anderson earned one of the final roster spots following a strong spring training.
Anderson waited so long for Thursday he knew he had to be ready.
“I just try to stay calm through the whole thing, to be honest,” Anderson said. “I think I’ve kind of surprised myself with how calm I’ve been through this whole thing. I don’t know if that’s just because I’ve been waiting my whole life for the opportunity, so it’s like, ‘Hey, I got it.’ Why be nervous about it or freak out, let your emotions take over? So I’ve really been surprised by myself.”
With one successful outing out of the way, Anderson was ready for whatever his role holds.
“The first one over the plate, it’s like, ‘All right, it’s the same thing.’ Really, I was trying to take it like any other game,” Anderson said. “Obviously, it was a big debut, but, hey, it’s baseball, so I try to treat it like a Little League game, Double A, Triple A game. It was good.”