Anderson Learns Powerful Lesson
Last season, while Angel outfielder Garret Anderson was mashing his way to a career-high 35 home runs, 14 more than his previous high, he repeatedly claimed he wasn’t trying to hit the ball out of the park, that he wasn’t sacrificing average for power.
Turns out Anderson wasn’t telling the whole truth.
“Last year, I wanted to learn how to hit for power, and you do sacrifice something to learn something else,” said Anderson, whose .288 average was a few notches below his career mark of .300 entering 2000.
“I learned what pitches I could hit for home runs, and you can’t learn that in spring training. I wanted to hit the ball out of the park on a consistent basis so pitchers would have a little more to worry about.”
After homering 16 times in 106 games as a rookie in 1995, Anderson became a strict disciple of then-batting instructor Rod Carew, who stressed hitting to the opposite field and taking what the pitcher gives you.
Opponents fed Anderson a steady stream of pitches on the outer half of the plate, and the left-handed-hitting Anderson dumped many into left field for hits but very few into the outfield seats.
Anderson batted .285 in 1996 and .303 in ’97 but combined for only 20 home runs in the two seasons. He showed more pop with 15 homers in 1998 and 21 in ‘99, but it wasn’t until 2000 that he emerged as a legitimate power threat, with the 35 homers and a career-high 117 runs batted in.
“That’s the approach I want to maintain this season,” said Anderson, who at 28 will move from center field to left this spring. “Who knows how many homers I’ll hit, but I think I can hit the same or more. And my average should be better, because I have a better idea of what I’m doing.”
It will be interesting to see how pitchers approach Anderson this season, especially if Troy Glaus, who led the American League with 47 homers while batting behind Anderson last season, moves into the cleanup spot and ahead of Anderson, who bats fifth.
Many believe Glaus provided protection for Anderson in the lineup--opponents didn’t want to put runners on base for Glaus, so Anderson got a lot of pitches to hit. Anderson obliged. He walked only 24 times, which is why his on-base percentage was only .307.
“I probably could walk more,” said Anderson, who probably will bat ahead of Jose Canseco, “but my philosophy is if a guy puts the ball over the plate, I’m going to try to hit it hard.”
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Manager Mike Scioscia, when asked Thursday who his backup third baseman would be if utility player Scott Spiezio won the first-base job this spring, replied: “Scott Spiezio.”
Seriously, though, the Angels could be in a bind if Spiezio beats out Wally Joyner and Larry Barnes at first. If Glaus needed to come out of a game for any reason, Scioscia probably would have to move outfielder Darin Erstad to first and Spiezio to third.
Scioscia expects Jose Fernandez, a non-roster invitee, to compete for a backup job, but the native of the Dominican Republic is having visa problems and has not arrived in camp.
