Lars Eric Anderson (born September 25, 1987) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from 2010 through 2012.

High school

Anderson attended Jesuit High School in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. In his senior season he hit over .400 with 14 home runs in 29 games. He committed to attend the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

on a scholarship to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

California Golden Bears baseball The California Golden Bears baseball team represents the University of California, Berkeley in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other California athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Pac-12 Conference. The Bears ...

team.

Draft

Coming into the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, Anderson was considered an early round talent, but dropped to the 18th round due to signability issues. He agreed to an $825,000 signing bonus with the Red Sox, equivalent to the suggested bonus for a first round supplemental pick.

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

He made his professional debut in April 2007 with the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

. "He really understands the

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's k ...

well, and he recognizes balls and strikes early," said

Gabe Kapler Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975), nicknamed "Kap", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, and current manager of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kapler was a 57th-round draft pick (1,487th ove ...

, the former Sox outfielder who was Anderson's manager at Greenville. "He was way ahead of the game because he was already recognizing balls and strikes and had a plan, an approach at the plate that was advanced. He had planned on not swinging at breaking balls until he had two strikes on him." In September 2008, Anderson was named the Minor League Offensive Player of the Year for the Red Sox, following a season of a combined 18 home runs and 80 runs batted in while hitting over .300 for both the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

and

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Sea Dogs became part of the Red Sox syst ...

. In 2009, his first full season at AA Portland, Anderson struggled, batting just .233 with 9 home runs and 51 RBI.Career statistics
Baseball-reference.com, January 6, 2010 Anderson started the 2010 season with the Sea Dogs. He was promoted to the AAA

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

on April 29 after hitting .355 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in 17 games in Portland, and batted .262 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs in 113 games. Despite making his major league debut in September 2010, Anderson returned to Pawtucket for the 2011 season and batted .265 with 14 home runs and 78 RBIs. On July 30, 2011, Anderson was nearly traded to his hometown Oakland Athletics, along with a player to be named later for starting pitcher

Rich Harden James Richard Harden (born November 30, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. Early years Harden attended Claremont Secondary ...

. However, the deal fell through, with the Red Sox citing issues with Harden's health. Anderson made his major league debut with Red Sox on September 6, 2010. He then replaced

Mike Lowell Michael Averett Lowell (born February 24, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 13-year career, Lowell played for the New York Yankees (1998), Florida Marlins (1999–2005), and the Boston Red Sox (2006&nda ...

at first base in the 5th inning of Lowell's last major league game on October 2, 2010, designated "Mike Lowell Day" by the Red Sox. In 18 appearances Anderson had 7 hits in 35 at-bats, with 4 RBIs.Lars Anderson Statistics and History
Baseball-Reference.com, retrieved April 22, 2012. Anderson appeared in 6 games in September 2011 as a defensive replacement and pinch runner, scoring twice as a pinch runner. On April 23, 2012, Anderson was again called up to the majors after Jason Repko was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Red Sox traded Anderson to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

for Steven Wright on July 31, 2012. On December 11, 2012, the Indians traded Anderson to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

in a three-team trade.

Chicago White Sox

The Diamondbacks designated Anderson for assignment on January 24, 2013. He was claimed off waivers by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, and placed on their 40-man roster on February 1. After being designated for assignment by the White Sox, Anderson was claimed by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

on February 25. Anderson was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on March 29, 2013. After clearing waivers, Anderson was traded by the Blue Jays to the

for cash on April 1. Anderson was assigned to the White Sox Triple-A affiliate

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

. On July 18, 2013, Anderson was released from the Minors.

Chicago Cubs

On January 24, 2014, he signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.

Los Angeles Dodgers

In December 2014, he signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and was assigned to the AA Tulsa Drillers to start the season. He appeared in 130 games for the Drillers and also three games for the triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ba ...

. He hit .242 with 14 homers and 65 RBI. In 2016, he appeared in 8 games for Oklahoma City and 88 games for Tulsa, and hit .266 with 8 homers and 48 RBI.

Kōchi Fighting Dogs

In March 2017, Anderson joined the Kōchi Fighting Dogs of the

Shikoku Island League Plus The is an independent professional baseball league on the island of Shikoku in Japan. (None of the teams in Nippon Professional Baseball are based in Shikoku.) The league currently has four teams, and has its league headquarters in Takamatsu. Th ...

independent league.

Sydney Blue Sox

Anderson signed with the

Sydney Blue Sox The Sydney Blue Sox are a professional baseball team, and one of eight foundation teams in the re-formed Australian Baseball League (ABL). The team plays their home games at Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP), one of the two venues used ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

for the 2017/18 season.

Solingen Alligators

In March 2018, Anderson signed with the

Solingen Alligators The Solingen Alligators are a German baseball and softball club from Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), ...

of the Baseball Bundesliga, Germany's premier baseball league. He became a free agent following the season. He retired in the offseason.

Personal life

Anderson is a co-owner of Birdman Bats along with former Red Sox teammate

Ryan Kalish Ryan Michael Kalish (born March 28, 1988) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox in 2010 and 2012 and for the Chicago Cubs in 2014 and 2016. A standout high schoo ...

. Anderson has been an owner of Birdman Bats since 2016.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Lars 1987 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Oakland, California Boston Red Sox players Charlotte Knights players Columbus Clippers players Greenville Drive players Iowa Cubs players Kōchi Fighting Dogs players Lancaster JetHawks players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Sydney Blue Sox players Tennessee Smokies players Tulsa Drillers players American expatriate baseball players in Australia American expatriate baseball players in Germany