Richard Arlen Anderson (born November 29, 1956) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He most recently served as the pitching coach for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

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).

Amateur career

Anderson attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, where he played

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 pl ...

for the

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

in 1978.

New York Mets

Anderson was drafted in the 24th round of the

1978 Major League Baseball Draft In 1978, four American baseball players were promoted from amateur baseball to the major leagues, including Arizona State University third baseman Bob Horner, who was selected number one overall by the Atlanta Braves. Oakland High School pitche ...

out of the

by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. Anderson would see mediocre results in the minors, finishing with a 60–51 record over parts of 11 minor league seasons, as he possessed only average stuff and struck out an extremely low average of 3.5 batters per nine innings. Despite this, he would be promoted to AAA Tidewater at the end of the 1980 season. However, Anderson would spend the next six season shuttling between AA

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

and Tidewater, being continually passed up for promotion to the majors while more promising prospects (such as future all-stars

Dwight Gooden Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the N ...

Sid Fernandez Charles Sidney Fernandez (born October 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, and ...

Ron Darling Ronald Maurice Darling Jr. (born August 19, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a m ...

Rick Aguilera Richard Warren Aguilera (born December 31, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1985 to 2000. Aguilera won a world championship as a member of the ...

Randy Myers Randall Kirk Myers (born September 19, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Bl ...

, and

Roger McDowell Roger Alan McDowell (born December 21, 1960) is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1996. He played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dod ...

) debuted with the big club. After pleading "All I want is one chance to prove myself" to Mets assistant general manager

Joe McIlvaine Joseph Peter McIlvaine (born 1949 in Narberth, Pennsylvania) is a baseball executive and former professional baseball player. McIlvaine played in the Detroit Tigers minor league system for 5 seasons. (1969–1973) He posted a win–loss record of ...

prior to the 1986 season, Anderson's wish was granted. He made his major league debut on June 9 against 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 ...

, pitching seven innings and allowing only one

unearned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

in a no-decision. His first win came on August 6, in the second game of a double header against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. For the season, Anderson went 2–1 with a 2.72

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

and one save in five starts and ten appearances out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

. Pitching rich in , Anderson was left off the Mets' postseason roster and was only able to celebrate their eventual World Series championship as a spectator on the bench.

Kansas City Royals

On March 27, 1987, Anderson was traded to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

, along with Mets backup catcher Ed Hearn and minor league pitcher

Mauro Gozzo Mauro "Blond Herring" or "Goose" Gozzo (born March 7, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and current manager of the Gastonia Honey Hunters. He played all or parts of six seasons in the majors, from until . Career Playing H ...

, for future star pitcher

David Cone David Brian Cone (born January 2, 1963) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, and current color commentator for the New York Yankees on the YES Network and WPIX as well as for ESPN on Sunday Night Baseball.Chris Jelic Christopher John Jelic (born December 16, 1963), is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder who appeared in four games with the New York Mets in 1990. His one career hit was a home run in the final at-bat of his career. Amateur caree ...

. In retrospect, with the all-star career of Cone and the journeyman careers of Anderson, Hearn, and Gozzo, this trade is often listed as one of the most lopsided in major league history. Anderson split two seasons between Kansas City and AAA

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

, going 2–3 with a 6.89 ERA at the major league level, before retiring following the 1988 season.

Coaching career

After retiring, Anderson accepted a job as pitching coach for the

Gulf Coast League Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, th ...

. After thirteen seasons as a minor league coach, the last seven at the AAA level, he was named the Minnesota Twins' pitching coach for the season, where he coached with former Met, and minor league roommate, Twins' manager

Ron Gardenhire Ronald Clyde Gardenhire (born October 24, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played as a shortstop for the New York Mets from 1981 through 1985. After another year playing in the minor leagues, he se ...

. From 2002 to 2010, Twins pitchers posted the third-lowest ERA in the American League, at 4.11. Anderson's philosophy for the pitching staff was to pitch to contact and limit walks in order to win. Consequently, no major league team was more stingy with free passes. For instance, from 2008 to 2010, the Twins issued 1,255 walks; the St. Louis Cardinals were a distant second on that list, at 1,433. In fact, from 2003, Anderson's second year, through 2010, the Twins issued the least or second least walks every season, although in the preceding six seasons (1997-2002, Anderson's first season and the five preceding seasons), they were no worse than the fifth least walks allowed. From 2011 to 2014, they ranged from fifth to eleventh fewest free passes. On October 2, 2014, following the termination of Gardenhire, it was announced that Anderson would not be returning as the Twins pitching coach. On November 2, 2017, Anderson was named the bullpen coach for the

for the 2018 season. On June 27, 2018, Anderson was promoted to pitching coach for the Tigers, following the firing of Chris Bosio.

Personal life

Anderson graduated from Mariner High School in 1975 and attended

Everett Community College Everett Community College (EvCC) is a public community college in Everett, Washington. EvCC educates more than 19,000 students every year at locations throughout Snohomish County, Washington, with most students and faculty at the main campus in E ...

before graduating from the University of Washington. He and his wife, Rhonda, have two daughters, Cortnie & Ashley, and one son, Ricky.

References

External links

, o
Ultimate Mets Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Rick 1956 births Living people Baseball coaches from Washington (state) Baseball players from Washington (state) Detroit Tigers coaches Everett Trojans baseball players Jackson Mets players Kansas City Royals players Little Falls Mets players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minnesota Twins coaches Minor league baseball coaches New York Mets players Omaha Royals players Tidewater Tides players University of Washington alumni Washington Huskies baseball players