Anderson: ‘Definitely dope’ to earn praise from Trout originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The World Baseball Classic is over and players are slowly returning to their MLB teams to close out Spring Training. Tim Anderson was among those players, and talked about his experience on Thursday, his first day speaking to the media since returning to the White Sox.
Anderson enjoyed his time representing the United States and grew as a player, since he was asked to play second base, which he’d never played as a pro. It was arguably the biggest stage for Anderson to show off his baseball talents, and it didn’t go unnoticed. For instance, Mike Troutー widely regarded as the best player in baseballー called Anderson a star, after two stellar performances against Mexico and Canada.
Receiving praise like that from one of the faces of the game left an impact on Anderson.
“Definitely dope,” Anderson said. “A real cool moment. For him to say that, it definitely means a lot. Obviously, he’s been paying attention, so I couldn’t be more thankful, especially coming from a dude like that.”
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Anderson didn’t just appreciate the kind words. He appreciated the opportunity to play alongside some of the best players in the game, like Trout, Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Trea Turner just to name a few.
“Just to see how some of those guys go about their business, it’s a reason why they’re different and they’re elite,” Anderson said.
Anderson availed himself of the opportunity, and represented the United States well in the process. His .333 batting average was tied for fourth-best on Team USA over the tournament. He added five RBI, three runs scored and one stolen base in the six games he played. Furthermore, Anderson made impressive plays in the field, despite being new to second base.
White Sox begin the regular season on the road against the Houston Astros on Mar. 30.
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