Alabamian who didn’t even play baseball until his junior year just jacked his first MLB home run

Cliff Sims

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June 22, 2016

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(Video above: Tim Anderson hits his first Major League home run)

Six years ago Tim Anderson wasn’t playing baseball. Today he’s hitting bombs over the Green Monster in Fenway Park.

Anderson was a standout on the basketball court for Hillcrest High School (Tuscaloosa) before starring on the baseball field, even leading the school to a state championship on the hardwood.

“You could just tell that if he’d ever just concentrate on one thing… that the sky would be the limit for him,” Hillcrest baseball coach Todd Agee told WTOK.

Injuries on the basketball court compelled Anderson to narrow his focus to baseball before going to college. He received exactly one scholarship offer — to East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi, which he accepted.

It didn’t take long for him to catch the attention of scouts. Anderson led the nation with an eye-popping .495 batting average and 62 runs scored. He was second in the country with 41 stolen bases, and added ten home runs, 18 doubles and 11 triples for good measure.

Next thing you know, a 20-year-old who hadn’t even been playing baseball a few years before was being drafted in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft and receiving a $2.2 million signing bonus.

He made his professional debut with the Kannapolis Intimidators of the Class A South Atlantic League. He was quickly promoted and started the 2014 season with the Winston-Salem Dash of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, hitting just under .300 in 68 games before suffering a set back with a broken wrist. Anderson returned a couple of months later and was immediately promoted to the Birmingham Barons in the Class AA Southern League, and he wasted no time making a splash in his home state professional debut.

Another hit for Tim Anderson, this time a double! He's now 3-for-3 in his Double-A debut for the Barons.

— Birmingham Barons (@BhamBarons) August 23, 2014

Tim Anderson hits his 1st AA home run, a solo shot in the top of the 3rd! He's now 2-for-2 tonight and hitting .526 (10-for-19) in 5 games.

— Birmingham Barons (@BhamBarons) August 27, 2014

At the time, Comcast Sports Chicago estimated Anderson’s major league ETA is “late 2016 or early 2017.” But, perhaps unsurprisingly, he exceeded expectations.

On Tuesday night Anderson was hitting leadoff for the White Sox and promptly hit the first pitch of the game over the left field wall.