CHICAGO, Ill. — Six years ago Tim Anderson wasn’t playing baseball. Today he’s a star for the Chicago White Sox.
In a video featured on their Facebook page, the White Sox posted a video titled, “A day in the life with the very calm and collected, Tim Anderson,” where a videographer followed him around leading up to and during a spring training game.
Anderson demonstrates all the hard work that goes into being a pro-athlete. From the early morning wake-up calls, to batting practice hours before the game, he is miked up for it all.
The video concludes with Anderson shooting a rocket into the outfield for a sliding-double. You can watch the video below.
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.
At the time, Comcast Sports Chicago estimated Anderson’s major league ETA is “late 2016 or early 2017.” But, perhaps unsurprisingly, he exceeded expectations. He was called up by the White Sox On June 10, 2016 and smashed his first pitch over the Green Monster in Fenway Park.
