Jimmy Anderson

Born on January 22, 1976, in Portsmouth, Virginia, Jimmy Anderson became a star pitcher at Western Branch High School. As a senior, the left-hander was “practically unhittable”1 with an ERA of 0.11, and was named Virginia High School Player of the Year.2 In the major leagues Anderson compiled a career record of 25-47 (.347) and an ERA of 5.42. He pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, then briefly for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs, before a monthlong stint with the Boston Red Sox during their championship season of 2004.

Anderson’s father, Jimmy, Sr., influenced his son’s development. Junior said, “He was pretty much my coach until pro ball. He pretty much taught me everything I know.”3 Senior, a former Norfolk shipyard general foreman,4 recalled, “We have a pitching rubber and a home plate in the yard. If I had a dollar for every pitch Jimmy has thrown to me I’d be a millionaire.”5

As a high-school sophomore in 1992, Anderson threw a no-hitter and a one-hitter in consecutive games.6 Overall, he notched six victories to go with his district-leading ERA of 0.88, and, as a bonus, hit four home runs.7

In 1993 Anderson, with a perfect 10-0 regular-season record, was chosen All-Southeastern District most valuable player. The junior had a sparkling 0.79 ERA, struck out 116 batters in 63 innings and walked only 18, leading the Bruins to an undefeated district season.8 But Anderson was not only a terrific pitcher. Robin Brinkley of the Virginian-Pilot called Anderson “one of the best hitters in the district.”9

In 1994 Anderson was even better, somehow improving his ERA to a microscopic 0.11.10 He struck out 22 batters in one game,11 again went undefeated (8-0) in the regular season and was voted the district’s most valuable player.12 Overall, in his junior and senior seasons, Anderson struck out nearly two batters per inning. Possessing pinpoint control, he walked fewer than two per nine innings. About his dominating high school career, Anderson said, “I matured early. I probably could have been in pro ball then.”13

A superb athlete, Anderson averaged more than 20 points per game as a sophomore on the junior varsity basketball team and shot in the high 70s in golf. But skipped practices kept him off varsity basketball and got him expelled from the golf squad.14 Anderson explained, “The basketball team had a summer camp that conflicted with an important baseball showcase event in Cincinnati, Ohio. The basketball coach told me I had a decision to make.” It didn’t take Anderson long. He said, “I played basketball for fun, but I was going to possibly get drafted for baseball.” As for golf, Anderson admitted he “lost interest.”15

In June 1994 Anderson was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth round of the amateur draft, although scouts had told him he might be taken as early as the first round and no later than the third.16

The Pirates sent Anderson to the Gulf Coast Rookie League, where he went 5-1 (1.60 ERA). In 1995 Anderson advanced to the Augusta GreenJackets of the low Class-A Sally League, posting a record of 4-2 (1.53 ERA). Later the Pirates promoted Anderson to the Lynchburg Hillcats of the High-A Carolina League, where things got tougher. In 52⅓ innings pitched, Anderson went 1-5 (4.13 ERA).

In 1996, Anderson did better in the High-A league, with an ERA of 1.93 in 65⅓ innings. Consequently, he was promoted to the Carolina Mudcats of the Double-A Southern League (Raleigh, North Carolina), and again did well, going 8-3 (3.34 ERA).

Anderson started the 1997 season at the same level, pitched to a 1.46 ERA, and was moved up to the Calgary Cannons of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. There he began a disturbing trend of wildness, walking 5.6 batters per nine innings. His ERA was 5.68, which doesn’t look impressive, but was only 6 percent higher than league average (5.36).17 The trying season was made worse on August 10, when Anderson received news that his father, only 44 years old, had died of a massive heart attack.18

Anderson spent all of 1998 with the Nashville Sounds, the Pirates’ new Triple-A affiliate. His poor control continued (5.2 walks per 9 innings), leading to a record of 9-10 (5.02 ERA).

Anderson was back with the Sounds for the first three months of the 1999 season, where he was terrific, achieving a record of 11-1 (3.86 ERA).19 His control improved, as he walked only 2.8 batters per nine innings. The reason, said Nashville manager Trent Jewett, “He’s 100 percent different this year because he’s confident. If a pitcher has any doubts, he tends to pitch around the bats. Now he believes he belongs at this level.”20

His outstanding performance earned Anderson a promotion to Pittsburgh, and he made his debut for the Pirates on July 4, 1999, at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium. He said it was the biggest thrill of his career. “My Dad was the first person I thought of. It was what we worked so hard for.”21 Anderson recalled the weather that day. “Hot as fire,” he said. “It was, like, 120 out on the turf.”22 He gave up three hits and a walk, but no runs, while working the seventh and eighth innings of a 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Anderson was sent back to Nashville, but was recalled on July 31. He started three games at the end of August with mixed results. In September, he pitched five games in relief – all Pirates losses.

In 2000 Anderson won the first start in which he got a decision, then lost his next five. The fifth came on June 14, when he walked five in four innings. The next day, the Pirates demoted him, again to work on his control.23 He showed improvement, in a small sample, walking only four in 13 innings. Upon returning, Anderson went 2-0 in July, but in his final 11 starts went 2-6 (6.14 ERA).24 Both wins came against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In one, Anderson pitched eight shutout innings; in the other, he threw a complete game in which he yielded only one run.

After his first two starts of 2001, Anderson had an ERA of 6.97. In his next three, he won twice and reduced his ERA to 2.76. But from May through August, he went 4-15 with an ERA of 6.46. He turned things around in his final six starts, going 3-1 with a 2.49 ERA. His overall record was 9-17 (5.10 ERA).

In 2002 Anderson got the decision in each of his first 14 starts, going 6-8 (4.61 ERA). The last was a complete-game five-hit win over Cincinnati. The rest of the way, he went 2-5 (6.67 ERA). Anderson lost his job as a starter in mid-August after giving up eight hits and five runs in three innings in a 9-5 loss to the Cardinals. In his final three outings, he gave up eight earned runs in four innings and consequently pitched only once in the month of September. Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said, “[Jimmy] just has to be consistent in what he’s trying to accomplish. Hopefully … his workout regimen, workout habits, pitching habits will be such that it will allow him to become a better pitcher, a more consistent pitcher.”25 The Pirates released Anderson on December 16.

In the three years from 2000 through 2002, Anderson was one of the least effective starting pitchers in the majors, ranking third from the bottom in both ERA (5.24) and winning percentage (.349).26 In his last season with the Pirates, he struck out the fewest batters per nine innings (3.0) and had the second-lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio (0.75). Perhaps nibbling too much, he surrendered 4.0 walks per nine innings.

Yes, Anderson lost 41 games in his three full seasons as a starter with the Bucs, but a manager has to be confident enough to give a pitcher the opportunities to lose that many games. Anderson started 85 games over that span, more than any Pirates pitcher. In fact, he never missed a start nor spent a day on the injured list in his professional career.27

On January 15, 2003, Anderson signed with the Cincinnati Reds. In two stints with the Reds, separated by a trip to Triple-A Louisville, he recorded one win against five losses and an 8.84 ERA. On June 26 Anderson surrendered 11 earned runs on 15 hits in five innings. He was released a week later and never started another game in the majors. He signed with the San Francisco Giants, but pitched only in the minors, and was released on August 21.

Since being drafted in 1994, Anderson had gained significant weight. He weighed 180 pounds on signing,28 but by 2003, had increased to 240. Over the winter, Anderson decided to get in better shape, lost 30 pounds, and in 2004 spring training with the Cubs had a 2.14 ERA, sixth-best in baseball. 29

After beginning 2004 at Triple-A Iowa, Anderson was summoned to Chicago in late May.30 In his first six appearances, Anderson pitched only 5⅔ innings. But on June 14 against the Houston Astros, he recorded a four-inning save, an event that 20 years later would be quite rare. With the Cubs ahead 5-0 in the sixth inning, starter Mark Prior surrendered a leadoff double. Anderson came in and stranded the runner. Although he allowed two singles in the seventh, he avoided any scoring with the help of a double play, and in the eighth retired in order the estimable trio of Lance Berkman, Jeff Kent, and Jeff Bagwell. In the bottom of the ninth, after the Cubs had extended their lead to 7-0, Anderson allowed two runs before sealing the victory.31

Although Anderson had pitched well in five of his seven outings for the Cubs, on June 23 he cleared waivers and was sent back to Iowa. On July 2 the Cubs traded him to the Red Sox for minor-league right-hander Andy Shipman.

Anderson knew a few of his new teammates, particularly Bronson Arroyo, with whom Anderson played in Pittsburgh and throughout the Pirates’ minor-league system. Sox fans will remember Arroyo as the pitcher from whom Álex Rodríguez slapped the ball in Game Six of the 2004 League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. What initially looked like a disastrous play for the Red Sox was subsequently corrected, with A-Rod called out for interference and Yankees runners returning to their bases.

In Anderson’s first appearance for the Sox, July 4 against Atlanta, Boston led 4-1 after four innings. But in the bottom of the fifth, Red Sox starter Derek Lowe allowed seven of the first eight batters to score and left the game trailing 8-4. Anderson relieved Lowe with one out and the bases empty and gave up a walk, double, and triple as the Braves extended their lead to 10-4, the final score.

Two days later, with the Red Sox thrashing Oakland 11-0, Anderson pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to preserve the win.

On July 15 Anderson needed only nine pitches to stymie the Anaheim Angels in the seventh inning. Unfortunately for the Red sox, they were down 8-1. Ramiro Mendoza pitched a one-two-three eighth, but the Red Sox were unable to cut into the Angels’ lead.

On July 17 Anderson relieved Joe Nelson in the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded, one out, and the Angels ahead 5-1. Anderson threw a wild pitch, allowing one run, and gave up a two-run single to Garret Anderson, making the score 8-1. Red Sox manager Terry Francona let his pitcher start the seventh, but after Anderson retired the first two batters, he walked the next two and was relieved by Mendoza. The Red Sox lost 8-3.

On July 21, with the Orioles leading 8-4, Anderson entered in the ninth and gave up two doubles and a single before recording an out. The two resulting runs and a homer by Boston’s Trot Nixon made the final score 10-5.

Eleven days later, Anderson was released and never pitched another major-league game. In his brief stay with Boston, he had no decisions and an ERA of 6.00. Though he wasn’t with the Red Sox for their entire run, Anderson received a World Series ring commemorating his contribution. He called the Sox a tight-knit group of “great guys.” 32

Thereafter, Anderson bounced around the minors with affiliates of the Cubs, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros, and Florida Marlins. In 2006, just after his first child was born, and “miserable” in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Anderson retired. 33

Subsequently, he went to work with Bob McKinney, a former Pirates scout who helped sign Anderson to his first contract. At McKinney Baseball, Anderson gave private pitching lessons to players from 7 years old to college age. He also coached a 17-and-under team that played tournaments in a showcase league. Anderson estimated that 97 percent of the players he coached went on to play college ball, including Chris Taylor, who became a main cog on the World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. 34 Anderson said, “I love helping the kids get into college and get better. It’s my favorite thing.”35

From 1998 to 2001, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds established the six highest single-season home-run totals. It was the pinnacle of the steroids era, which continued at least until penalties were instituted in 2005, and so covered Anderson’s entire career. Anderson said he was fully aware that players were using. “Players are, with each other, pretty honest,” he said. “You kind of know what’s going on. Plus, you could just look at somebody and tell.”36

Anderson accumulated just under six years of major-league service time, and naturally wishes he had gotten 10 years, which would have guaranteed a healthier pension – about $150,000 per year.37 So he holds some bitterness from having played against guys who were juicing. “I wonder what would’ve happened if maybe it was a more level playing field, if I could’ve maybe got that 10 years or maybe get to that contract where I [would be] set family-wise,” he said. “That part does aggravate me.”38

As of 2023, Anderson seemed happy with his life after pro ball. He remained busy with pitching lessons, but because he made his own schedule, still had plenty of time for family and hobbies. Anderson and his wife, Sarah, lived in Portsmouth, Virginia. They have two daughters, Jordyn, who played soccer at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia and Jenna, a basketball player at Portsmouth Christian. His mother, Florence, lived only minutes away. Anderson’s favorite pastimes were fantasy football and golf. In 2022 he walked away with a championship in fantasy football and had his golf handicap down to five – an all-time low. 39

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 Rich Radford, “Baseball Draft ’94: Jimmy Anderson,” Norfolk Virginia) Virginian-Pilot, June 2, 1994: C1.

2 Robin Brinkley, “Western Branch Still Looks Like No. 1,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, May 29, 1994: D13.

3 Paul Meyer, “Dad in His Thoughts as Anderson Debuts,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 5, 1999: B-7.

4 Tom Robinson, “Anderson Mourns Father Who Pushed Him So Hard,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, September 13, 1997: C1.

5 Robin Brinkley, “W. Branch’s Anderson Has All the Right Pitches,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, April, 27, 1993: C1.

6 “W. Branch’s Anderson Has All the Right Pitches.”

7 Bill Leffler and Ed Miller, “14-Player All-Star Squad Features Six Juniors,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, June 3, 1992: 14.

8 Jim Leffler, “Manor, Churchland Players on All-District,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, June 4, 1993: 26.

9 Brinkley, “Western Branch Still Looks Like No. 1.”

10 Bill Leffler and John Gordon, “All-Southern District Baseball,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, June 24, 1994: 18.

11 Paul White, “A Super Year for Area Schools, Individuals,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, June 19, 1994: C12.

12 Leffler and Gordon, “All-Southern District Baseball.”

13 Phone interview with Jimmy Anderson, October 30, 2023. Hereafter, Anderson interview.

14 Brinkley, “W. Branch’s Anderson Has All the Right Pitches.”

15 Email from Anderson, November 9, 2023.

16 Rich Radford, “Baseball Draft ’94: Jimmy Anderson,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, June 2, 1994: C1.

17 While Anderson pitched in the Pacific Coast League, the league average ERA was about 5.00.

18 Robinson, “Anderson Mourns Father Who Pushed Him So Hard,”

19 Paul Meyer, “Anderson Is Called Up to Help Ailing Bullpen,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 4, 1999: D6.

20 Paul Meyer, “Anderson Shows Control,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 4, 1999: D-6.

21 Meyer, “Dad in His Thoughts as Anderson Debuts,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 5, 1999: B-7.

22 David Hall, “Bonus Coverage: Jimmy Anderson,” PilotOnline.com, July 24, 2013 (last accessed May 19, 2023). https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/norfolk-tides/article_da864ee7-883a-5ffc-be24-7a4872cc6fff.html.

23 Alan Robinson (Associated Press), “Injury Apparently Didn’t Ruin Loiselle’s Career,” Tyrone (Pennsylvania) Daily Herald, June 16, 2000: 4.

24 While Anderson pitched in the National League, the league average ERA was about 4.50.

25 Robert Dvorchak, “Pirates Report – Notebook,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 21, 2002: B-5.

26 Pitchers who started at least 60 percent of their games and had at least 50 decisions.

27 Anderson interview.

28 Rich Radford, “Baseball Draft ’94: Jimmy Anderson.”

29 Tom Robinson, “Anderson Lost Weight and Added Confidence,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, April 7, 2004: C-3.

30 Paul Sullivan, “Muscle Tear Will Shelve Wellemeyer,” Chicago Tribune, May 28, 2004: 4-5.

31 Paul Sullivan, “Cubs Ace Notches First Win,” Chicago Tribune, June 15, 2004: 4-1.

32  Anderson interview.

33 David Hall, “Bonus Coverage: Jimmy Anderson,” PilotOnline.com, July 24, 2013, Updated August 4, 2019 (last accessed June 24, 2023).

https://www.pilotonline.com/2013/07/24/whatever-happened-to-jimmy-anderson-2/.

34 Anderson interview.

35 David Hall, “Bonus Coverage: Jimmy Anderson,” PilotOnline.com, July 24, 2013, Updated August 4, 2019 (last accessed June 24, 2023).

https://www.pilotonline.com/2013/07/24/whatever-happened-to-jimmy-anderson-2/.

36 David Hall, “Bonus Coverage: Jimmy Anderson.”

37 David Hall, “Bonus Coverage: Jimmy Anderson.”

38 David Hall, “Bonus Coverage: Jimmy Anderson.”

39 Anderson interview.