Tim Anderson’s run in Anaheim turned out to be the final stop of a career that once looked built for a much longer stay.
The 33-year-old former American League batting champion said Monday on a Zoom with reporters that he is retiring, bringing an end to a 10-season career that included stops with the White Sox, Marlins and Angels.
“I still love the game,” he said, via MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. “It just brought too much pain to me so going back to play is not for me, not where I’m at right now.”
Anderson’s latest chance came a year ago, when he joined the Angels on a minor league contract and a spring training invite. He made the most of it at the time, hitting .250/.297/.317 in Cactus League play and earning a spot on the Opening Day roster. The Angels even penciled him in as their starting shortstop and fifth hitter for their first game, against his former team, the Chicago White Sox.
The night started badly and didn’t improve. Anderson went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, and the rest of the season followed a similar path. By May, Zach Neto was healthy and playing every day, Anderson was designated for assignment and released, and manager Ron Washington shifted more playing time to younger infielders.
Anderson hasn’t played since.
His time with the Angels was essentially a last attempt to revive a career that had already lost its momentum. In 2024, he signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Miami Marlins and struggled badly, slashing .214/.237/.226 with only three extra-base hits in 65 games. It was his second straight season with a sub-zero Wins Above Replacement total.
That stood in sharp contrast to the best years of his career, when Anderson was one of baseball’s most dangerous contact hitters. From 2019-22, he hit .318 with 51 homers and 163 RBIs in 374 games. He won the American League batting title in 2019 with a .335 average, then finished second in the league in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a .322 mark.
Anderson also represented the White Sox on the American League All-Star team in both 2021 and 2022. Those were the last seasons in which he hit better than .300, a reflection of the elite hit tool that once made him such a tough out.
Like many hitters, though, Anderson needed more than bat-to-ball skills to keep going into his 30s.
“I fought to try to get back for the last two or three years,” he said, via Merkin. “I trained.
I just couldn't get the body to operate where it used to ... Overall I'm happy.
I'm happy in real life, the real world.”
Anderson finished with a .276 career batting average, 98 home runs and 350 RBIs.
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