JUPITER, Fla. -- Marlins shortstop Tim Anderson was the 2019 American League batting champion and a two-time All-Star, but did you know the 30-year-old Alabama native can play the drums?
With the return of Spring Training, what better way for fans to get to know the newcomers both on and off the field than through a fun Q&A? In this installment, we catch up with Anderson.
MLB.com: You broke both legs in high school. Have you ever thought about whether you’d still be playing basketball if that didn’t happen?
Anderson: I wouldn't have stuck with basketball. The biggest decision for basketball was coming down to the average height at the time was like 6-foot-6, jumping up to like 6-foot-9, 6-foot-10 now, so that was my decision on whether to play basketball or baseball. And I knew that I was fast, and if I could learn how to hit and catch -- which I'm still working on that -- then I got a shot at it. So that's what made my decision to come play baseball.
MLB.com: What did you miss most about baseball when you were focusing on basketball?
Anderson: It used to be my first love, and then I started playing basketball. All my friends played basketball. Probably had like a few friends that played baseball. And the only reason that I got back into baseball [is] because I had that one friend after I broke my legs in high school, I was just going to focus on basketball, and he was like, ‘Man, if I can get you a tryout with the team, would you come out?’ Then, I missed the tryout.
And so, he talked to the coach again. I played against the same guys when I was younger, so they kind of were familiar with me. The coach was like, ‘If he comes out, we'll give him a look.’ After I went out, the coach at the time was just like, ‘We’re going to let the seniors decide if they want to keep you on the team.’ And the seniors decided I could stay on the team. I didn't play that whole [junior] year just about. I was riding the bench, and I started playing like halfway through. My first game, I just played left field. I didn't hit or anything. I just played defense. As time goes on, I started getting in the lineup and got back into it.
