Tim Anderson's Don't Come Along Often

[bmags]

I can't really think about anything but talking about TA right now.

I don't know of a single player on the sox I can think of that became elite after arriving in the bigs so quickly and unexpectedly.

A short recap of what I hoped TA would be throughout the course of his career.

TA is drafted:

- I hope he can be another Alexei Ramirez

TA is in minors:

- Shawon Dunston comp. That's interesting. Solid player, we need those.

TA arrives:

- I guess Schoop is making things work, hopefully he can get to Schoops level

TA last year:

- Whoa...he's really good, is he a top 5 shortstop now?

TA This year:

- Whoa...Tim is a top 5 player in baseball.

That's crazy. Luis Robert I had expectations he could become a great. Same with Eloy. Same with Moncada. Same with Jose! Same with Giolito, kopech, Frank Thomas, Crede.

Have I ever watched anything like this? This is like a sammy sosa transition without the roids and expansion-weakened pitching.

Tim Anderson should be a damn MVP.

That's INSANE.

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

We were thinking about the same guy at the same moment; I almost started a Tim Anderson thread but just bumped the MVP thread and the other TA thread instead. I should have started one like you, as should everyone!

This guy is playing like the best damn baseball player on the planet. It's absurd. 

He talked, and now he's walking that walk. 

I am even surprised how great Tim has been, and I'm on record here saying he has the best and quickest hands I've ever seen. People have hands as quick, but no one in the games history have had faster hands/wrists than Anderson. He gets to start his bat so late he can do whatever he wants with the baseball.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Look at Ray Ray Run

[Harold's Leg Lift]

Elite athlete + elite makeup + elite work ethic = Superstar

[smellysox]

Yeah he really is amazing and would for sure be an all star this season had there been an all star game. He could finish this season seriously batting close to .400!

It amazes me that just a month ago people on this board were asking for Robert to lead off and to bat Tim at 7 or where ever in the lineup. No way let Timmy set the table!

Edited September 16, 2020 by smellysox

[chw42]

Even if critics say he can't maintain his BABIP...the dude has one of the highest xBAs in baseball and a xwOBA of .388. If you watched him enough, you know he's not just hitting seeing eye singles all day. 

[bmags]

4 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

We were thinking about the same guy at the same moment; I almost started a Tim Anderson thread but just bumped the MVP thread and the other TA thread instead. I should have started one like you, as should everyone!

This guy is playing like the best damn baseball player on the planet. It's absurd. 

He talked, and now he's walking that walk. 

I am even surprised how great Tim has been, and I'm on record here saying he has the best and quickest hands I've ever seen. People have hands as quick, but no one in the games history have had faster hands/wrists than Anderson. He gets to start his bat so late he can do whatever he wants with the baseball.

That was the thing with Tim. We hadn't had a guy come up in a while (position player) who had a plus skill so apparent. Tim's hands and bat speed were undeniable.

What is crazy to me is it was hard not to listen to baseball people who were saying his approach couldn't work. He'd need to up his walk rate, be more patient to not be susceptible to falling down 0-2 and getting sliders.

But instead he's just...made his approach work in a way I don't see in baseball. He's just ... moved around in the box and taken away pitchers pitches against them because he's so smart. When the hell does that happen?

Mike Trout molded himself into this perfect encapsulation of all the best things to do in baseball, and that's amazing and I love Mike Trout. But Tim Anderson just...didn't do that and is incredible. And that's fun as hell and he's a WHITE SOX

[bmags]

lol I can't get over that at one point I was jealous and hoping he could be Jonathan Schoop.

[soxfan49]

When the season began, somebody came out with a list of the league's top 10 SS's- fangraphs perhaps- and he wasn't on there ?

[GreenSox]

16 minutes ago, bmags said:

TA is drafted:

- I hope he can be another Alexei Ramirez

I never hoped for that for first round picks. Becoming an average player is a consolation prize for a first round pick.  

[southsider2k5]

I can say 100%, Tim Anderson is my favorite player on this team.  I mean it is easy to say a guy who gives you the best stats on a team is your favorite, and many do.  For me, it isn't JUST what he does on the field, but the way he lives his life.  He gives back to his community.  He loves his family and his teammates. He plays the guy with his heart on his sleeve.  He has a ton of work ethic.  He hasn't been afraid to assume the mantle of leadership, both on this squad, but also in his community and for this franchise.  Nothing was as powerful as watching him work publicly through the murder of his best friend, and putting himself out in public while trying to heal and cope.

Finally, the TA story is a great success story for this franchise as well.  We heard forever that this team couldn't draft or develop position players.  They took a chance on a raw position player who barely played baseball in HS, and didn't play much as a small school JuCo player.  Heck Gordon Beckham had more ABs his final year of college than TA had in all of his college experience.  But the Sox drafted him in the first round.  Many people felt he was rushed through the minors and to the majors.  He was still a raw and toolsy kid when he got to Chicago, and made a ton of mistakes.  But he learned and worked through it.  Many felt his extension was premature and there were no savings to be had in it, even if he did succeed.  The talk after TA got here was how many amazing SSs there were in baseball, and that Timmy was a level under all of them... at best.  Yet at every single stage of this mans professional career his worked past it, and exceeded pretty much everyone's expectations.

Tim Anderson is an incredible person, as well as an MVP caliber player.  The kid has a fan for life in me.

[bmags]

1 minute ago, GreenSox said:

I never hoped for that for first round picks. Becoming an average player is a consolation prize for a first round pick.  

Yes we know you don't watch baseball. In Alexei's prime he was a 4 WAR starting shortstop. He came at 25 and had to learn a new league. He was a really good player who faded after age 30, beat up mentally and physically. 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

1 minute ago, bmags said:

That was the thing with Tim. We hadn't had a guy come up in a while (position player) who had a plus skill so apparent. Tim's hands and bat speed were undeniable.

What is crazy to me is it was hard not to listen to baseball people who were saying his approach couldn't work. He'd need to up his walk rate, be more patient to not be susceptible to falling down 0-2 and getting sliders.

But instead he's just...made his approach work in a way I don't see in baseball. He's just ... moved around in the box and taken away pitchers pitches against them because he's so smart. When the hell does that happen?

Mike Trout molded himself into this perfect encapsulation of all the best things to do in baseball, and that's amazing and I love Mike Trout. But Tim Anderson just...didn't do that and is incredible. And that's fun as hell and he's a WHITE SOX

That's the best part to me... Tim has been trying to tell people, and almost no one listened. All people did was try to tell him how he COULD and SHOULD succeed, but he was having none of that. He tried to tell you how he was going to succeed, and how much work he put in and etc and people just kept saying that won't work. Tim has had a better 162 game stretch than 99% of baseball players will ever have in their career... instead of people telling Tim how he should do things, they should shut up and watch and learn a thing or two.

On this very board people were asking for a different lead off hitter 6 weeks ago! The unknown is scary, and being original means you're not really projectible yet but as a fan who has watched him everyday, isn't this why human scouts still exist? Watch the kid grow over the last three years, watch the work, the adjustments, the development and as Harold said... you'd know 

Elite athlete + elite makeup + elite work ethic = Superstar

I'd add you need an elite tool in baseball as well, since athleticism can't save a leaky bat, but Tim always had that elite tool. The guy had no idea how to hit, what pitchers were doing, and he was still out there holding his own against professionals who had played the game for 15-20+ years. That said more than any number or walk rate. 

[ptatc]

7 minutes ago, bmags said:

That was the thing with Tim. We hadn't had a guy come up in a while (position player) who had a plus skill so apparent. Tim's hands and bat speed were undeniable.

What is crazy to me is it was hard not to listen to baseball people who were saying his approach couldn't work. He'd need to up his walk rate, be more patient to not be susceptible to falling down 0-2 and getting sliders.

But instead he's just...made his approach work in a way I don't see in baseball. He's just ... moved around in the box and taken away pitchers pitches against them because he's so smart. When the hell does that happen?

Mike Trout molded himself into this perfect encapsulation of all the best things to do in baseball, and that's amazing and I love Mike Trout. But Tim Anderson just...didn't do that and is incredible. And that's fun as hell and he's a WHITE SOX

That used to be much more common. Players would stand as far back in the box as they could to see a fastball pitcher and would move up to the front against a breaking ball pitcher. But you're right you don't see it much anymore.

[southsider2k5]

5 minutes ago, GreenSox said:

I never hoped for that for first round picks. Becoming an average player is a consolation prize for a first round pick.  

You should really become familiar with 1st round draft pick history.

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

5 minutes ago, GreenSox said:

I never hoped for that for first round picks. Becoming an average player is a consolation prize for a first round pick.  

For the 17th pick in the draft? Alexei Ramirez would be a home run result

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

4 minutes ago, ptatc said:

That used to be much more common. Players would stand as far back in the box as they could to see a fastball pitcher and would move up to the front against a breaking ball pitcher. But you're right you don't see it much anymore.

Yeah, Jason Kendall used to do this most recently. 

I think the more fascinating thing Tim does is coming up out of his crouch on high pitches. Instead of moving his hands or pulling them in or up, he instead moves his body to keep his hands and swing on the same plane. That's really unique and not something you see; that takes a stupid level of athleticism and hand eye coordination.

[CyAcosta41]

Tim Anderson is truly amazing.

Incredible MENTAL skills of understanding his particular strengths (off-the-charts hand-eye coordination and hand-speed) and developing an approach to let his strengths play through each at-bat, thereby taking away all of the tactics of smart major league pitchers (changing eye-level, in-and-out, changing pace to keep a hitter off-balance, etc.).

And it's one thing to formulate an approach, but a different and completely rare MENTAL strength is required to have the discipline to do this at the plate, virtually every at bat, against the best pitchers on the planet.

Tim looks like he's toying with pitchers. He can do whatever he wants to do. His hand speed allows him to react so much later than most great hitters can.

Barry Bonds had that same "advantage" when he became THAT Barry Bonds, only, well, you know ....

As a somewhat older fan, TA reminds me of Paul Molitor in his HOF prime -- lightning quick and strong hands making him nearly impossible to pitch to.

Incredible that TA has blossomed before our eyes, making him in some ways the primary weapon on a team that already has a revitalized Abreu and young studs like Robert, Jimenez, and (a hopefully soon recovered) Moncada.

[ptatc]

5 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Yeah, Jason Kendall used to do this most recently. 

I think the more fascinating thing Tim does is coming up out of his crouch on high pitches. Instead of moving his hands or pulling them in or up, he instead moves his body to keep his hands and swing on the same plane. That's really unique and not something you see; that takes a stupid level of athleticism and hand eye coordination.

The only other person I recall doing that regularly was Cal Ripken. He changed his stance regularly based on the pitches he was seeing.

[Dick Allen]

18 minutes ago, soxfan49 said:

When the season began, somebody came out with a list of the league's top 10 SS's- fangraphs perhaps- and he wasn't on there ?

To be fair, he was coming off a batting title for sure, but it did seem like it would be nearly impossible to keep his BABIP that high. He didn’t walk, and his defense was pretty bad last year. I thought it was probable his defense would pick up, most of his mistakes were on pretty easy plays, but his offense would probably regress. The defense has risen, but so has the offense. I have come to the conclusion that this is no fluke. I still don’t think he is a .360 hitter, or a .330 hitter, but at some point soon, I think I am going to have to change my mind. What’s next? 30 homers a year?

[Quin]

24 minutes ago, GreenSox said:

I never hoped for that for first round picks. Becoming an average player is a consolation prize for a first round pick.  

Well, supposedly when the Sox drafted Tim Anderson he was supposed to be the next Chris Sale.

[ptatc]

1 minute ago, Quin said:

Well, supposedly when the Sox drafted Tim Anderson he was supposed to be the next Chris Sale.

[Quin]

22 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I can say 100%, Tim Anderson is my favorite player on this team.  I mean it is easy to say a guy who gives you the best stats on a team is your favorite, and many do.  For me, it isn't JUST what he does on the field, but the way he lives his life.  He gives back to his community.  He loves his family and his teammates. He plays the guy with his heart on his sleeve.  He has a ton of work ethic.  He hasn't been afraid to assume the mantle of leadership, both on this squad, but also in his community and for this franchise.  Nothing was as powerful as watching him work publicly through the murder of his best friend, and putting himself out in public while trying to heal and cope.

Finally, the TA story is a great success story for this franchise as well.  We heard forever that this team couldn't draft or develop position players.  They took a chance on a raw position player who barely played baseball in HS, and didn't play much as a small school JuCo player.  Heck Gordon Beckham had more ABs his final year of college than TA had in all of his college experience.  But the Sox drafted him in the first round.  Many people felt he was rushed through the minors and to the majors.  He was still a raw and toolsy kid when he got to Chicago, and made a ton of mistakes.  But he learned and worked through it.  Many felt his extension was premature and there were no savings to be had in it, even if he did succeed.  The talk after TA got here was how many amazing SSs there were in baseball, and that Timmy was a level under all of them... at best.  Yet at every single stage of this mans professional career his worked past it, and exceeded pretty much everyone's expectations.

Tim Anderson is an incredible person, as well as an MVP caliber player.  The kid has a fan for life in me.

 

31 minutes ago, bmags said:

That was the thing with Tim. We hadn't had a guy come up in a while (position player) who had a plus skill so apparent. Tim's hands and bat speed were undeniable.

What is crazy to me is it was hard not to listen to baseball people who were saying his approach couldn't work. He'd need to up his walk rate, be more patient to not be susceptible to falling down 0-2 and getting sliders.

But instead he's just...made his approach work in a way I don't see in baseball. He's just ... moved around in the box and taken away pitchers pitches against them because he's so smart. When the hell does that happen?

Mike Trout molded himself into this perfect encapsulation of all the best things to do in baseball, and that's amazing and I love Mike Trout. But Tim Anderson just...didn't do that and is incredible. And that's fun as hell and he's a WHITE SOX

These two posts also sum up why Tim Anderson is probably the most marketable player in baseball ... and why MLB is blowing a golden opportunity.

He's the genesis of succeeding while telling all the unwritten rules to fuck off and to have fun while playing baseball and to do it his own way. While being an amazing human being. MLB sucks at marketing its traditional stars and now Tim is here #ChangingTheGame.

[Dominikk85]

Wasn't tim a basketball player and picked up baseball as a teenager? Lorenzo cain was like that too, those guys are not traditional prospects and almost impossible to predict.

[bmags]

4 minutes ago, Quin said:

 

These two posts also sum up why Tim Anderson is probably the most marketable player in baseball ... and why MLB is blowing a golden opportunity.

He's the genesis of succeeding while telling all the unwritten rules to fuck off and to have fun while playing baseball and to do it his own way. While being an amazing human being. MLB sucks at marketing its traditional stars and now Tim is here #ChangingTheGame.

Well what if instead of marketing the players who play the game we just put a bunch of weird restrictions in the game to make it harder to understand what's happening.

[bmags]

2 minutes ago, Dominikk85 said:

Wasn't tim a basketball player and picked up baseball as a teenager? Lorenzo cain was like that too, those guys are not traditional prospects and almost impossible to predict.

https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484/ref=asc_df_0735214484/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=344057888328&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10864068482040066665&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021569&hvtargid=pla-750234669981&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=69543898472&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=344057888328&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10864068482040066665&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021569&hvtargid=pla-750234669981

Good book on that idea.