Tim Anderson

Timothy Devon Anderson Jr. (born June 23, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Anderson played college baseball at East Central Community College, and was selected in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft by the White Sox. He made his MLB debut in 2016. Anderson led the American League in batting average in 2019, won the Silver Slugger Award in 2020, and was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022. Early life Anderson was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His father, Tim Sr., was arrested on drug charges before he was born and served the first 15 years of Tim Jr.'s life in prison. His birth mother was already raising four children and was unable to care for Anderson as well, so he was raised by his aunt and uncle along with their three children. His grandfather took him to visit his father often, so that they could have a relationship. Anderson attended Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Anderson played little league baseball as a kid but eventually cut the sport out of his life up until his junior year of high school. He focused on basketball in his first two years of high school, but broke both of his legs during his sophomore year. In his junior year, he played both baseball and basketball. As a junior, Anderson batted .333 as a left fielder. In his senior year, Anderson played as an infielder and batted .420. He was a part of the state basketball championship winning team in his senior year. Standing at , Anderson decided that he was likely too short to play professional basketball. College career Anderson enrolled at East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi, to play college baseball. East Central was the only school to offer Anderson a baseball scholarship. In his freshman season, Anderson batted .360 with four home runs, 37 runs batted in (RBIs), and 30 stolen bases without being caught stealing. However, he received no interest from Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, and was not selected in the 2012 MLB draft. Returning to East Central for his sophomore year, Anderson had a breakout season, leading all junior college baseball players with a .495 batting average. He was named a first-team National Junior College Athletic Association Division II All-American. He committed to transfer to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).