Norman Craig Anderson (born July 1, 1938) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets for all or parts of four seasons (1961–1964). A native of Washington, D.C., he threw and batted right-handed and was listed as tall and .

Scholastic career

Anderson attended Anacostia High School from 1953–1956. He played football, basketball, and baseball. Anderson attended Lehigh University, playing both varsity football and varsity baseball. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1960 and then went on to earn an M.Ed. in Business Education from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1966.

Playing career

Anderson signed with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent prior to the season. He made his MLB debut on June 23, 1961. Anderson was selected by the Mets in the

1961 MLB Expansion Draft The 1961 MLB Expansion Draft was held by Major League Baseball on October 10, 1961, to fill the rosters of the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s, the new franchises which would enter the league in the 1962 season. The pool of players out of w ...

, on October 10, 1961. He played – with the Mets. Anderson led the 1962 Mets in appearances and saves. It was a team that ended up with a record of 40-120, the most losses by any Major MLB team in one season. On May 12, 1962, Anderson was the winning pitcher on both ends of the first double-header the Mets ever won. After winning those two games against the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

, he lost his last 16 decisions that season. (The losing streak would end at 19 games when Anderson's big league career ended, on May 31, 1964.) In that twin-bill, he became the first Mets pitcher to record two wins in a single day; only two other Mets pitchers since have accomplished this:

Willard Hunter Willard Mitchell Hunter (March 8, 1935 – February 3, 2021) was an American professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues in and for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. Of his 69 games pitched over parts of two seas ...

and Jesse Orosco. On September 18, 1963, Anderson was the losing pitcher in the last baseball game ever played at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

, when the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

, behind lefty Chris Short, beat the Mets 5-1. In 82 games (17 starts), Anderson finished with a career record of 7 wins, 23 losses, 94 strikeouts, 192.1

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

, 34 games finished, and an earned run average (ERA) of 5.10.

Scholastic career

Playing career

References

External links