Brian James Anderson (born April 26, 1972) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, who played 13 seasons for five teams, as well as a

sports broadcaster In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present tense. There are two main types of sports broadcast ...

and coach. Currently, Anderson is the

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

on the Rays TV crew on Bally Sports Sun.

Early life and education

Anderson was born on April 26, 1972, in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. At Geneva High School (Ohio), Anderson was a four-year letterman in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, a three-year letterman in

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

, and a two-year letterman in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. He went on to attend

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. In 1991 and 1992, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fie ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. Anderson was selected by the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

in the 1st round (3rd pick overall) of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft.

Professional career

Anderson began his major league career with the

in 1993. Between 1993 and 1995, he was 13–13 with a 5.46 ERA. He was traded prior to the 1996 season 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

for pitchers

Jason Grimsley Jason Alan Grimsley (born August 7, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for seven teams during a 15-year career. He was a member of both the 1999 and 2000 World Series champion New York Yankees. Major Leag ...

and Pep Harris. Anderson went 7–3 in two seasons with the Indians. He was on the 1997 playoff roster, in which he made six relief appearances, going 1–0 with 1 save. Roughly a month after a solid performance during the

1997 World Series The 1997 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1997 season. The 93rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians and the National ...

, Anderson was the second pick by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

in the 1997 MLB Expansion Draft. In his first full season in the Majors, this time as a starter, Anderson went 12–13 with a 4.33 ERA in 32 starts, including 2 complete games. The following season, 1999, he switched between the bullpen and the rotation, totaling 31 appearances, including 19 starts. In 2000, Anderson was back in the rotation full-time, finishing 11–7 with a career high in innings pitched (213.1) and in strikeouts (104). In 2001, Anderson went 4–9 with a 5.20 ERA. He pitched to a 1–1 record in 4 postseason games, with an ERA of 2.84. Anderson was a swingman in 2002 for the Diamondbacks, pitching 35 games while starting 24 of them. His record was 6–11. In 2003, Anderson signed with his former club, the Cleveland Indians. In his 24 starts with the Tribe, Anderson permitted a whopping 27 unearned runs due to errors the Indians committed. Anderson was acquired by 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

during the 2003 season for three minor leaguers. Between Cleveland and Kansas City, Anderson won a career high 14 games while also having a career best 3.78 ERA in 31 starts. Anderson regressed in 2004, pitching poorly throughout the season. His record was 6–12 with a career high 5.64 ERA in 166 innings. Anderson's season ended prematurely when he tore an elbow ligament, necessitating

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

. He attempted a comeback in with the Texas Rangers. He re-injured it during his rehab program and had to undergo a second Tommy John surgery. During his

convalescence Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. Details It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a sou ...

in 2007, Anderson was a fill-in broadcaster for the Cleveland Indians. On February 1, 2008, the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

signed Anderson to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. During spring training however, Anderson left the mound in the middle of a game, and followed that with an

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

. The MRI revealed he had a torn

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL) may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

(for the third time), as well as a torn flexor mass muscle, both in his left elbow. Rays manager

Joe Maddon Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager (baseball), manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). After playing ...

commented by saying, "It can't be repaired; he's done. It's really a big disappointment."

Post-playing career

Following the second Tommy John surgery, Anderson was out of baseball for the 2007 season, during which he occasionally filled in as a broadcaster for the Cleveland Indians on

SportsTime Ohio SportsTime Ohio was an American regional sports network which was last known as Bally Sports Great Lakes. At the time it left the air, the network was owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as an affiliate ...

, as well as doing several

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

games and a weekly highlight show. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, he served temporarily as a

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for Rays television broadcasts during a ten-game West Coast road trip, teamed with play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats while regular Rays broadcast partner Joe Magrane was away on assignment as an analyst for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...

coverage of

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, Anderson was an assistant to the

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

and worked in the front office for the Rays. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Anderson again worked as a part-time TV analyst for the Rays, calling about 50 games for which Magrane's successor, Kevin Kennedy, was unavailable. In October 2010, the Rays announced that Anderson would become the team's full-time TV analyst beginning in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Personal life

Anderson and his wife Jessica Marie married on November 1, 2014. They reside in St. Petersburg, Florida with their daughter, Harper Marie, born November 2015, and son Baker James, born November 27, 2018. Anderson also has two children from a previous marriage, Rylyn Mae and Jackson James.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Brian 1972 births Living people American sports announcers Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Portsmouth, Virginia Baseball players from St. Petersburg, Florida Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players California Angels players Cleveland Indians announcers Cleveland Indians players Kansas City Royals players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball pitchers Midland Angels players Omaha Royals players People from Geneva, Ohio Baseball players from Ashtabula County, Ohio Tampa Bay Rays announcers Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Sidewinders players Vancouver Canadians players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Wright State Raiders baseball players Wichita Wranglers players All-American college baseball players Wareham Gatemen players