Brian Anderson

Twenty-two regular-season tiebreaker games were played in the National and American Leagues from 1946 to 2018. The 18th took place on September 30, 2008, between the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox or, as it’s better known in Chicago, “The Blackout Game.” The White Sox won the game 1-0 on a Jim Thome home run in the bottom of the seventh, but the image that is burned into many fans’ minds is the final out. A fly ball into short right-center by Alexi Casilla was caught by Brian Anderson, who had to make a headfirst dive. Celebration ensued. Anderson played one more season for the White Sox before being traded to the Boston Red Sox on July 28, 2009, for Mark Kotsay. He tried to remake himself as a pitcher before retiring in 2015. The Blackout Game catch would become one of Anderson’s most memorable moments. Looking back on that play, Anderson said, “You dive, and you can feel the volume, you feel the place shaking. It’s crazy.”1

Brian Nikola Anderson was born on March 11, 1982, in Tucson, Arizona. His parents were Dana and Leslie Anderson, and he had a younger half-sister, Brooke, and a half-brother, Christopher. He described his father as a “typical California laid-back guy,” and said his parents met in Arizona, were married young, and divorced early.2 Dana worked for the D’amore Group Home, a place for kids who faced domestic or mental challenges, by providing mentorship, supervision, transportation, and staying overnight if needed. Leslie sold media advertising. Leslie later married Dave Holmes, who worked construction in marble and ceramic tile.3 Brian always had an easy and outgoing personality with jovial streak; teammates once described him as a surfer dude from the desert.4 He grew up a “diehard Dodger fan” with his father and described a transformational experience when Dodgers pitching coach Ron Perranoski threw him a baseball in the stands: “I flipped my lid.”5 He recalled once trash-talking Larry Walker during a game, said his father yelled at him, and he vowed to never speak ill of another baseball player again.6 As a child he signed his name “Brian Anderson, Los Angeles Dodgers.”7

Anderson attended Canyon del Oro High School, a baseball powerhouse that won three state titles in the 1990s8 and has produced major-league players Shelley Duncan, Chris Duncan, Ian Kinsler, Jason Stanford, Colin Porter, and Scott Hairston.9 Anderson, Kinsler, Hairston, and Chris Duncan were all teammates.10 Kent Winslow, who coached Anderson for his final two years at the high school, said Anderson set the record for punishment drills. “He’d show up for a game with one cleat,” Winslow said. “And no jersey.”11 Anderson was named 5A state player of the year.12

Anderson then attended the University of Arizona with coach Andy Lopez. He started as a pitcher and moved to center field as a freshman.13 He described assistant coach Jerry Stitt as “the best hitting guru.”14 Anderson landed on a scout’s radar with an impressive junior season: .375, 14 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 17 steals.15

Anderson played for the collegiate Cape Cod Baseball League during summers. He said, “That was the place you wanted to go.”16 He recalled playing for the Bourne Braves in 2001, along with future major leaguers Conor Jackson, Joe Blanton, and Ryan Speier.17 He returned to the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2002, playing for the Cotuit Kettleers.18

Selected by the White Sox as an outfielder 15th overall in the 2003 free-agent draft, Anderson was labeled a five-tool player by White Sox scouting director Doug Laumann.19 He joined the Rookie league Great Falls White Sox, playing in 13 games in 2003 before his season ended due to a wrist injury that required surgery in the offseason to repair.20

At the start of the 2004 season, Anderson was moved up to the Winston-Salem Warthogs of the Advanced-A Carolina League for 69 games with a .319/.394/.532 slash line. Promoted to the Double-A Birmingham Barons, he played in 48 games, batting .270/.346/.416. He made only two errors the entire season, an indicator of his defensive prowess.

Anderson was moved up to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights at the start of the 2005 season, where he slashed .294/.358/.470 in 117 games with 16 home runs.

On August 16, 2005, Chicago’s Scott Podsednik was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hip muscle.21 Anderson was promoted to the team to face the Minnesota Twins, where he started in right field and batted ninth. His first hit came in the seventh inning off starter Brad Radke, a line drive to left field. Anderson later scored on a double by Timo Perez. The White Sox lost the game 9-4 in 16 innings. “It was fun, but a long game,” said Anderson, who ended the game with a strikeout. “That first hit was a load off my shoulders. If I had gone 0-for-7, it would have hurt a little bit.”22

Anderson played in 12 other games that season, with his best performance coming 10 days after his debut, on August 26 at Seattle against the Mariners. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs, the first of his career, off Félix Hernández, with three RBIs and a stolen base, and the White Sox won 5-3. He finished the season with a slash line of .176/.176/.382 and was left off the playoff roster.

Aaron Rowand, Daniel Haigwood, and Gio González were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jim Thome during the 2005 offseason. Anderson was slated to take over the day-to-day responsibilities of center field.23 This was a lot of responsibility for the 24-year-old, who still didn’t have a place of his own. Anderson was living with college friend Lindsay Tamblyn’s mother in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.24 He said it was “a lot easier to deal with a bad game when a nurturing mom figure makes you a meal.”25

Anderson began the 2006 season with the White Sox, starting most games in center field. He struggled to find his footing at the plate: This would be a trend throughout his career. “I’m a guy that feeds off success. I’m trying to get something going, but I’ll go 1-for-3, and then the next game I do just crappy. This is by far the biggest challenge of my career, to have to battle through this.”26

Anderson was involved in another infamous White Sox moment of this era on May 20, 2006, in a game against the Chicago Cubs. He hit a fly ball to left field in the bottom of the second inning. A.J. Pierzynski tagged from third and collided with Cubs catcher Michael Barrett. Pierzynski emphatically slapped home plate after the collision, and Barrett took offense. As Pierzynski walked back to the dugout, Barrett exchanged words and punched him in the face. Both benches cleared and Anderson tackled Cubs player John Mabry.27 Barrett, Mabry, Pierzynski, and Anderson were all ejected. This was the only ejection of Anderson’s career. Barrett was suspended for 10 games and Anderson for five, and Pierzynski was fined an undisclosed amount.

Anderson continued to play excellent defense, which kept him on the team.28 He made his first error of the season on August 18 against the Twins, breaking a 111-game errorless streak. While Anderson improved in the second half, the season ultimately ended with disappointment at the plate; he batted .225/.290/.359, with 8 home runs and 33 RBIs.

In the 2006-2007 offseason, Anderson played in the Venezuelan Winter League at the White Sox’ request. “I’m going to go there for a month and work on a better approach to my ballgame,” he said.29 He described the experience as “crazy,” and said it occurred while his relationship with manager Ozzie Guillén was the tensest: “Ozzie wanted the best for me, to get more exposure. He wanted me to get more at-bats.”30 Anderson only last two weeks in Venezuela after losing 20 pounds because of a severe stomach illness. “It’s my career; it’s my swing. I better figure this out or I’m gonna be bagging groceries soon,” he said.31

With spring training getting underway, the message from Guillén was clear: Anderson was promised nothing for the 2007 season. In fact, Guillén said the former first-round pick would have to win his starting job all over again.32 Anderson would make the team in the fourth outfield spot, providing relief for Darin Erstad and Scott Podsednik.33

Anderson once again struggled at the plate at the start of the season. After just 19 plate appearances over the month of April with a .118/.211/.176 slash line, he was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on April 30 to get more at-bats.34 His season ended after 57 games with an injury to his left wrist.35 His .255/.318/.435 slash line was slightly worse than when he was there in 2004.

In 2008 Anderson made the White Sox out of spring training, once again as a fourth outfielder.36 He continued his strong defensive play while playing in 98 games, 59 of them in the later innings as a defensive replacement. His new approach to coming off the bench was noticed by Guillén and showed Anderson’s maturity. “Last year, it was sitting long stretches, combined with the poor attitude I had,” Anderson said. “I was bitter because I wasn’t starting, and I was negative about it. Now, I’m a lot more positive about what I do, and that helps.”37

Anderson again mirrored his 2006 season at the plate: a slash line of .232/.272/.436 with 8 home runs and 26 RBIs. The White Sox finished the season 88-74, tied with the Minnesota Twins for first in the AL Central Division.

Game 163 took place on September 30 in Chicago. The fans arrived in their black gear – black shirts, black pants, black hats, black jackets, and looks of fierce determination. Even the White Sox brass was dressed in black T-shirts with the words “SOX PRIDE BLACKOUT” on them.38 Anderson came in to pinch run in the bottom of the seventh for Ken Griffey Jr. and then replaced him in center field. This set up an Anderson swan dive catch to end the game and send the White Sox into the postseason to face the Tampa Bay Rays, who defeated them in the Division Series three games to one.

Anderson once again found himself in a backup outfield role behind Dewayne Wise to start the 2009 season as the fourth outfielder. A week into the season Wise suffered a separated right shoulder, creating playing time for Anderson.39 He continued to struggle at the plate and after 65 games on July 20 he was sent to Triple-A Charlotte after Carlos Quentin was recalled from his rehab assignment.40 On July 28 Anderson was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Mark Kotsay and was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket.41 Anderson was soon called back up, but he mostly played as a defensive replacement late in games, appearing in 19, pinch-running in two games, and had only 21 plate appearances. “I take a lot of pride playing defense,” Anderson said. “I’ve struggled offensively to stay consistent, but with some at-bats, I can put together some quality at-bats and help this team win some games.”42 On December 12 he was released.

Anderson signed with the Kansas City Royals, and he let the team know that he wanted to try becoming a pitcher.43 He made his pitching debut on July 4, striking out two and allowing a single in one inning for the Arizona Rookie League Royals.44 He was released at the end of the year and signed with the Yankees. Anderson pitched in Double A until he suffered an arm injury in May 2011.45 He also had a rib removed under his collarbone to try to alleviate arm pain.46 He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on February 26, 2012, but was released on March 31. He caught on with the Colorado Rockies on April 7 but was released on the 15th.

Anderson spent 2013 and 2014 working in the medical supply industry.47 He said he was “seeing the handwriting on the wall.” Nick Arroyo, a friend who was the company’s CEO, told him that he was good with people and taught him some talking points. Anderson excelled at selling to doctors, saying it was “not easy when they’re 10 times smarter than you.”48

In 2015 an older and wiser Anderson attempted one last comeback as an outfielder with the White Sox. “If I could talk to these young kids in camp,” Anderson said, “I would tell them to stay focused on the job. Don’t get me wrong, when I was on the field I made sure I did my work and took it seriously. But I guess you could say I had too much fun with other things. I was young and could have handled it better.”49 He was released before the season began.

Anderson joined Chip Hale’s staff at the University of Arizona in 2022 as an undergraduate assistant coach focusing on outfielders and coaching first base as well as providing guidance to younger players.50 “Once I’d reached the major leagues, that was kind of enough; I had reached that pinnacle. I lacked the discipline, the maturity at that time to handle certain situations. When I should have gone right, I was going left, and that caused me to lose the drive to keep playing. And then ultimately, you don’t perform, they don’t want you to be on the field anymore.”51

In August Anderson joined the coaching staff of Pima College in Tucson, Arizona.52 He then moved to Northwestern University, where in 2023 he became interim coach after Jim Foster was fired following allegations of abusive behavior.53 He stayed for the 2024 season under new head coach Ben Greenspan. He left Northwestern after his second season. He described it as a great experience working with young players and said that it gave him a chance to move back to Chicago. In mid-2024 he was pursuing head coaching opportunities.54

Anderson and his wife, Danielle, have a daughter, Scarlett. Of his wife, Anderson said, “I would not be coaching without Danielle. Going every which way, every direction, mostly down. She’s the reason I got into coaching. She did all of this while she was pregnant.”55

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the authors consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Michael Lev, “After ‘Underachieving’ Pro Career, Ex-UA Star Brian Anderson Reinvents Himself as Coach,” Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), February 19, 2022: 1.

2 Brian Anderson telephone interview with Eric Conrad, June 19, 2024. Unless indicated otherwise, all direct quotations come from this interview (Anderson interview).

3 Anderson interview with Mark Morowczynski, October 19, 2024.

4 Tom Verducci, “Brian Anderson, OF-Turned-Pitcher-Turned-OF, Wants One Last Chance,” Sports Illustrated, February 24, 2015.

5 Anderson interview.

6 Anderson interview.

7 Patrick Finley, “White Sox Good Fit for Star from CDO, UA,” Arizona Daily Star, March 1, 2006: A1.

8 Greg Hansen, “Ex-Wildcats in NBA to Play in All-Star Game,” Arizona Daily Star, June 8, 2003: C2.

9 Greg Hansen, “Welcome to Big Leagues, Stefen,” Arizona Daily Star, March 30, 2019: B02.

10 Tom Verducci.

11 Patrick Finley.

12 Chris Davis, “White Sox Rookie Well-Schooled as Tucson Amateur,” Arizona Daily Star, March 20, 2005: C3.

13 Patrick Finley.

14 Anderson interview.

15 Chris Jackson, “Fullerton Regional Team Capsules,” Arizona Daily Star, May 27, 2003: C3.

16 Anderson interview.

17 Anderson interview.

18 Sue Horton, “All-Time Major League Baseball Players from the Cape Cod Baseball League,” https://capecodbaseball.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/2012website/archives/Current%20Year/All_Time_MLB_CCBL_Alumni.pdf.

19 Doug Padilla, “First Choice a ‘Five-Tool Player,’” Chicago Sun-Times, June 4, 2003: 139.

20 Doug Padilla, “Anderson Feeling at Home in Sox Camp – Tucson Resident, 22, Not Putting Pressure on Himself to Succeed,” Chicago Sun-Times, March 11, 2004: 145.

21 Toni Ginnetti, “Sox Want ‘Disabled’ Podsednik Health for Stretch,” Chicago Sun-Times, August 16, 2005: 109.

22 Dave Dyck, “Anderson a Hit in Debut with Sox,” Chicago Tribune, August 17, 2005: 4.

23 Doug Padilla, “Sox Get Thome for Rowand: GM Williams Adds Injury-Plagued Big Bat, Loses Fan Favorite,” Chicago Sun-Times, November 24, 2005: 134.

24 Nina Metz, “Life’s a Ball with 2 Homes and 2 Moms,” Chicago Tribune, February 26, 2005: 15.

25 Anderson interview.

26 Joe Crowley, “Anderson’s Struggles Will Cost Him ABs,” Chicago Sun-Times, May 3, 2006: 113.

27 Mike Kiley, “Mabry Injured after Brawl with Anderson,” Chicago Sun-Times, May 21, 2006: A97.

28 Toni Ginnetti, “Ozzie: Great Expectations Will Be Met,” Chicago Sun-Times, June 10, 2006: 77.

29 Joe Cowley, “Anderson Winter Plan: Small Ball,” Chicago Sun-Times, September 19, 2006: 101.

30 Anderson interview.

31 Patrick Finley, “Showtime Is Now for Ex-CAT Anderson,” Arizona Daily Star, February 20, 2007: C4.

32 Joe Cowley, “Life of Brian on the Upswing: Changes at Bat Keep Anderson in Sox’ CF Picture,” Chicago Sun-Times, February 27, 2007, 92.

33 Joe Cowley, “Ozzie says B.A. Gets to Stay: Anderson Given Spot,” Chicago Sun-Times, March 28, 2007: 106.

34 Toni Ginnetti, “Struggling Anderson Sent Down,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 30, 2007: 105.

35 Joe Cowley, “Painful Pen Collapse – Orioles 7, White Sox 6,” Chicago Sun-Times, July 15, 2007: A74.

36 Joe Cowley, “Springboard to Success? – No-Nonsense Camp Might Be First Step in Turning It Around,” Chicago Sun-Times, March 29, 2008: 49.

37 Joe Cowley, “Cabrera Says Scioscia ‘Is on Another Level,’” Chicago Sun-Times, May 12, 2008: 77.

38 Rick Telander, “Thome, Danks, Pierzynski … Heroes Aplenty in Win,” Chicago Sun-Times, October 1, 2008: A3.

39 Joe Cowley, “Won, Lost, Record – White Sox 10, Tigers 6 Sox Win,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 14, 2009: 58.

40 Joe Cowley, “Anderson Demotion Stirs Usual Emotion,” Chicago Sun-Times, July 21, 2009: 57.

41 Amalie Benjamin, “Learning Curve for Buchholz: He’s Well-Adjusted This Time Around,” Boston Globe, July 29, 2009: C3.

42 Michael Silverman, “Red Sox Notebook – Newcomers in Lineup – Anderson in Right for Drew,” Boston Herald, August 16, 2009: B4.

43 Greg Hansen, “Dough Rising Fast for Coaches,” Arizona Daily Star, April 4, 2010: C2.

44 Patrick Finley, “Ex-Cat Gets the Royal Treatment,” Arizona Daily Star, July 12, 2010: B7.

45 Greg Hansen, “Hansen’s Sunday Notebook: Miller Is Fine Doing Quiet, Dirty Work,” Arizona Daily Star, December 4, 2011: B2.

46 Greg Hansen, “Hansen’s Sunday Notebook: Recruiters Like Cochise,”Arizona Daily Star, February 19, 2012: B2.

47 “CDO Grad, ex-Cat Anderson Working on a Comeback,” Arizona Daily Star, February 28, 2015.

48 Anderson interview.

49 Tom Verducci, “Brian Anderson, OF-Turned-Pitcher-Turned-OF, Wants One Last Chance,” Sports Illustrated, February 24, 2015.

50 Michael Lev, “After ‘Underachieving’ Pro Career, Ex-UA Star Brian Anderson Reinvents Himself as Coach,” Arizona Daily Star, February 19, 2022: 1.

51 Michael Lev.

52 “Pima Adds Ex-Wildcat Brian Anderson, Tucson High’s Oscar Romero to Coaching Staff,” Arizona Daily Star, August 19, 2022: 1.

53 Michael Lev, “Arizona OF Mac Bingham Headed to LSU; Ex-Wildcat Brian Anderson Named Interim coach at NU,” Arizona Daily Star, July 14, 2023: 1.

54 Anderson interview.

55 Anderson interview.