Brady Anderson

[edit] Americola's celebrity biographies are provided by AmericolaWiki, a celebrity wiki. You can help contribute to Americola and edit this article.

Brady Anderson
Outfielder
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 4, 1988 for the Boston Red Sox
Final game
May 20, 2002 for the Cleveland Indians
Career statistics
Batting Average	.256
Home Runs	210
Runs Batted In	761
Teams
Boston Red Sox (1988) Baltimore Orioles (1988-2001) Cleveland Indians (2002)
Career highlights and awards
In 1996, Anderson became the only player in major league history to be in both the 50-20 club and the 20-50 club. Anderson hit his 50th home run of the season early in the game off of Pat Hentgen in 1996. Anderson was hit by a pitch 154 times in his career, the 15th highest total in baseball history.

Brady Kevin Anderson (born January 18 1964 in Silver Spring, Maryland) is a former center and left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Indians.

Anderson attended Carlsbad High School in Carlsbad, California. After graduating, he studied economics at the University of California, Irvine. He played outfield and first base for the Anteaters, leaving college following his junior season after being drafted by the Red Sox.

Contents 1 Early years 2 Best years 3 Later years 4 See also 5 External links

Early years

Anderson was selected by the Red Sox in the 10th round of the 1985 amateur draft, and made his major league debut on April 4, 1988. Billed as a "can't miss" prospect, a lackluster spring resulted in Anderson being traded to the Orioles along with Curt Schilling in exchange for Mike Boddicker on July 29. Anderson hit poorly during his first several seasons in Baltimore, batting for neither average nor power.

Best years

Anderson proved himself a capable lead-off man in the 1992 season. Flashing his famous sideburns, he became the first player in major league history to score 100 runs, slug more than 20 home runs, collect 80 runs batted in, and steal more than 50 bases in the same year. During the season, Anderson was selected to the American League All-Star team, playing in the game held in San Diego.

Anderson had a career year during the 1996 season. Despite a combined 72 home runs in his first seven major league seasons, he hit 30 home runs by the All-Star break. Going into the final game of the season with 49 home runs, a total which was second only to Mark McGwire's major league-leading total of 52, Anderson hit his 50th home run early in the game off of 1996 Cy Young winner Pat Hentgen. In doing so, he joined an elite club of hitters with 50 home runs in one season. Anderson's 1996 season remains one of the most impressive, if not surprising, accomplishments in baseball history, and his 50 home runs broke Frank Robinson's Orioles club record for a single season. By the close of the 1996 season, Anderson became the only player in major league history to be a member of both the 50-20 club and the 20-50 club. He is also the first player ever to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, albeit in different seasons.

Later years

Anderson was the starting outfielder for the AL All-Stars again in 1997, but he was unable to duplicate his 1996 results over the next several seasons, eventually bowing out of baseball in 2003. His second-highest season home run total was during the 1999 season, when he hit 24.

With 3 balls, 2 strikes and 2 outs and Cal Ripken, Jr. on deck, Anderson struck out to end the 2001 season, ending the final game of Ripken's career. Anderson later said it was the "most nervous" at bat he ever had. Additionally, it was his final Orioles at-bat.

In 2004, Anderson was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame. Also during that year, fellow ex-Oriole Jim Palmer stated in an interview that Anderson's sudden power surge in the mid-'90s was attributable to performance enhancers, such as anabolic steroids. Anderson flatly denied the allegation, and Palmer retracted his statement the following day. He was also mentioned in Jose Canseco's book Juiced, where Canseco said he suspected Anderson used performance-enhancing drugs.

As of 2006, Anderson is one of only two players (the other being Barry Bonds) to have stolen 50 or more bases in a season (53 in 1992) and hit 50 or more home runs in a season (50 in 1996).

Anderson now lives in California, where he is raising his daughter Brianna, who was born late in the summer of 2003. Although Anderson had wanted to continue to play baseball, he cites wanting to raise his daughter as his main reason for leaving baseball.

Anderson is also part-owner of the Hollywood Fame, a 2006 expansion franchise of the American Basketball Association [1].

See also

• MLB players who have hit 30 or more home runs before the All-Star break
• 50 home run club

Wikipedia information about Brady Anderson This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Brady Anderson". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.