| Marlon Anderson | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Anderson with theHagerstown Suns in 2011 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born: (1974-01-06)January 6, 1974 (age 52) Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 8, 1998, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 10, 2009, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .265 |
| Home runs | 63 |
| Runs batted in | 371 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Marlon Ordell Anderson (born January 6, 1974) is an American former professionalbaseballsecond baseman andoutfielder who played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for six teams, over 12 seasons. He was widely known for his clutch hits, and writers for publications includingThe New York Times andNewsday had referred to him as one of the best pinch-hitters in the game.[1][2] Anderson was the hitting coach for theBrooklyn Cyclones in 2018.[3]
Anderson attendedPrattville High School from 1988 to 1992. Anderson was a student and a letterman infootball andbaseball. He was coached by Roger Lambert who also coached Marlon's two younger brother's Keto Anderson and Randy Anderson.
Anderson attended theUniversity of South Alabama. As a senior, he posted a .357batting average with thirteenhome runs, and was theSun Belt Conference Player of the Year and aBaseball America first teamAll-American. In 1994, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theWareham Gatemen of theCape Cod Baseball League.[4]
Anderson was drafted by thePhiladelphia Phillies in the second round of the1995 amateur draft. In1998, while playing for theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, he was named theInternational LeagueRookie of the Year. On September 8 of the same year, he made his Major League debut as apinch hitter, hitting a home run offMel Rojas of the New York Mets.
Anderson was the Phillies startingsecond baseman in1999,2001 and2002. In2003, because neither his offense nor his defense were considered exceptional,Plácido Polanco replaced him as the Phillies second baseman (alsoChase Utley was then a top prospect of the Phillies' Triple-AScranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons); Anderson was not offered a contract by the Phillies and signed as afree agent with theTampa Bay Devil Rays. In2004, Anderson signed with theSt. Louis Cardinals and filled a niche as a utility infielder. He also became known for his skill at pinch hitting, tying for theNational League lead in pinch hits with 17 that year.
In2005, Anderson signed with the New York Mets, where he served as a pinch hitter. Anderson batted over .300 in pinch-hit situations. Anderson’s Met highlight occurred during an interleague game with theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim on June 11, 2005, when he tied the score in the ninth inning with aninside-the-park home run off AngelscloserFrancisco Rodríguez. The ball caromed away fromcenter fielderSteve Finley, who ran it down in right-center field as Anderson circled the bases. Anderson barely beat the play at the plate, colliding face-first intocatcherJosé Molina's mask.
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On November 18, 2005, Anderson signed a two-year contract with theWashington Nationals. His contract ensured that the only two big leaguers ever to be named Marlon (the other isMarlon Byrd) would be teammates again on the2006 Nationals.They were also teammates on the Phillies in September 2002 when Byrd was called up.
On August 31, 2006, Anderson was traded by the Nationals to theLos Angeles Dodgers after scoring the winning run in a 6-5 thriller against the Phillies in Washington. At the time, Washington had been struggling for much of the season and was not a playoff factor while the Dodgers appeared to be headed for the playoffs with theNL West division crown. Anderson was brought in hopes to assist in the Dodgers' playoff push. He was intended to be a pinch hitter, but Anderson won the starting job inleft field when rookieAndre Ethier struggled towards the end of the season.
On September 18, 2006, with the Dodgers playing theSan Diego Padres for first place in theNational League West with only two weeks left in the regular season, Anderson went five for five, including two home runs. His second home run that night was the last of a record tyingfour consecutive home runs in the bottom of the 9th inning, following home runs hit byJeff Kent,J. D. Drew, andRussell Martin. Anderson's home run tied the score at 9-9 after the Dodgers trailed 9-5 to begin the inning. The Dodgers would eventually win the game on awalk-off home run byNomar Garciaparra, and would tie San Diego for the NL West title. The tiebreaker however, went to San Diego as they had beaten the Dodgers 13 of 18 games in 2006. The Dodgers would still make the playoffs after being awarded the wild card spot.
The emergence of young Dodgers prospectsMatt Kemp andJames Loney contributed to Anderson's playing time diminishing during the first half of the2007 season and he was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on June 29, 2007, ending his tenure with the club. He cleared waivers and became afree agent on July 11. He was promptly signed to a minor league contract by the Mets on July 12.
One week later, on July 19, Anderson was called up to play for the Mets. He started his first game back with the Mets against the Dodgers, the team that had just released him. He had a 2-RBIsingle in that game.
On August 29, 2007, Anderson was part of a controversial call between the Mets and second-place Philadelphia Phillies at a game atCitizens Bank Park. With the Phillies leading 6-5 with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning,Shawn Green hit a high-chop ground ball toshortstop. In trying to break up adouble play, Anderson slid intoTadahito Iguchi, the Phillies second baseman. The second base umpire, C.B. Bucknor, called him out on interference, resulting in a double play. Replays of the incident showed that Green would have easily beaten out the play. The Mets would go on to lose the final game of the series, resulting in a critical four-game sweep by the Phils, who would eventually take the division on the final day of the season from the Mets.
Anderson signed a two-year contract worth $2.2 million to return to the Mets in2008.[5] On May 23, 2008, he seriously injured his hamstring in a game against theColorado Rockies on a groundout.
On April 11, 2009, the Mets designated Anderson for assignment. Later that week, he was released by the Mets.
On June 14, 2009, Anderson signed with theNewark Bears of the independentAtlantic League.[6] In 7 games he hit .240/.321/.240 with 0 home runs and 1 RBI.
Anderson served as a hitting coach with theHagerstown Suns in 2011 and 2012 and was hired to fill the same position with theBrooklyn Cyclones in 2018.[7]
Anderson served as a part-time color analyst for Philadelphia Phillies broadcasts during the 2014 season and was hired byComcast SportsNet as a pre-game and post-game television studio analyst prior to the 2015 season alongsideRicky Bottalico.[8]
