The 40 Greatest Orioles of All-Time - No. 9 - Brady Anderson

by SC on Mar 12, 2006 11:14 PM EST in News

9. Brady Anderson, OF (1988-2001)

All-Star: 1992, 1996, 1997

To me, Brady Anderson was a superstar. He was a fine leadoff man, ran well, and of course, had that magical 1996 season.

Brady really hit his stride in 1992, when he became a regular. He hit .271/.373/.449 with 21 homers, 80 RBI, 53 steals and 100 runs scored. I think it was more than we really expected, as he had never shown any power before. But it wasn't flukey, because he kept up a similar level of production (though he never stole more than 36 bases in a season again) for the next three years before his explosion in '96.

Brady Anderson's 1996 is a classic fluke year. It's not that he wasn't usually a good player, because he was. But that year was so ridiculously above the norm for him that it qualifies as a huge fluke anyway. He set his career high for homers, with 50. The second-most he ever hit was 24. He had 110 RBI, second-most was 81. He slugged .637, second-best was .477. He even had one of his better defensive years.

What do you do with a fluke season like that? Darin Erstad had one, Ken Caminiti had one (we know what to chalk his up to, probably), and countless others have had them. But it was really just a one-year power spike, and outside of the homers, his numbers didn't drop off the next year. He hit .297/.396/.637 in '96, and .288/.393/.469 in '97.

Anderson was never really an average hitter, he hit .256 for his career. But he knew how to get on base, with a career .362 OBP, and he had some pop. When Brady got old, it came on in a hurry. One year, he was still hitting .257/.375/.421, and the next, he was washed up. His 2001 season was sad, as he just flailed away hopelessly for 430 at-bats. He signed with Cleveland for 2002, but only played in 34 games, and was even worse than he had been the year before.

Everyone gets old and can't do what they used to do, but Brady Anderson was a player I grew up on, so for me personally, it was a bit disheartening to watch one of my favorite players flame out.

Brady leads the modern Orioles (since 1954) in three categories: stolen bases, hit by pitch, and power/speed number. The difference between Anderson and the No. 2 ranking player in each category is large: 307 steals to Al Bumbry's 252, 148 HBPs to Melvin Mora's 71, and a 248.7 power/speed number compared to Paul Blair's 143.6.

BRADY ANDERSON, BALTIMORE ORIOLE
                    #      Rank
Games Played      1759       6
At-bats           6271       4
Runs              1044       4
Hits              1614       4
Total Bases       2698       5
Doubles            329       4
Triples             64       2
Home Runs          209       6
RBI                744       6
Walks              927       2
Stolen Bases       307       1
Runs Created       965       5
Extra-Base Hits    602       4
Times on Base     2689       4
Hit By Pitch       148       1
Intentional BBs     57       7
Power/Speed #    248.7       1

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Roid User

I hate Brady, I wish we kept Finley over anderson!

PLay like you want it, Live like you need it

by merdon1332000 on Mar 13, 2006 12:31 AM EST 0 recs

The thing....

...I always remembered the most about Brady was how unpopular he was. I'm not sure if it was the whole "prettyboy" thing he had going on with the Luke Perry/90210 sideburns or the persistent whispers regarding his personal life that put people off, but I always remembered a whole lot of people who expressed similar sentiments as merdon above. Personally, he was never one of my favorites...and even with that one kickass season I'm a little surprised to see him up this high.

by Jonnypops on Mar 13, 2006 1:14 AM EST 0 recs

Brady

"the persistent whispers regarding his personal life that put people off"

What were the rumors?

I personally liked Brady although he didn't play up to his last contract.

by birdman on Mar 13, 2006 1:49 AM EST up 0 recs

that he was gay

"My best game plan is to sit on the bench and call out specific instructions like 'C'mon Boog,' 'Get ahold of one, Frank,' or 'Let's go, Brooks.'" - Earl Weaver

by SC on Mar 13, 2006 2:05 AM EST up 0 recs

yeah...

him roller blading to camden yards in bootie shorts every day didnt exactly help. One of my all time faves. I don't think he used steroids, but it wouldn't surpirse me if he did. He was ripped as hell. He was a franchise center fielder that I'm happy to have in the Orioles Hall of Fame. Excellent player, and this ranking is pefectly justified.

And i always thought of him as a fan favorite, i have never heard much bashing of him around Baltimore.

by dtran2k3 on Mar 13, 2006 8:44 AM EST up 0 recs

Never thought he

was gay or a roid user but always one of my favorite orioles. But the whole roller skating thing freaked me out.

"We're so bad right now that for us back-to-back home runs means one today and another one tomorrow" Earl Weaver

by Larry Bigbie3 on Mar 13, 2006 4:44 PM EST up 0 recs

Jim P.

seems to think so and I agree.

PLay like you want it, Live like you need it

by merdon1332000 on Mar 13, 2006 7:58 PM EST up 0 recs

Jim Palmer thinks a lot of things

"My best game plan is to sit on the bench and call out specific instructions like 'C'mon Boog,' 'Get ahold of one, Frank,' or 'Let's go, Brooks.'" - Earl Weaver

by SC on Mar 13, 2006 8:22 PM EST up 0 recs

And he loves

top say he's a hall of famer when he dose broad casting and if you didn't know better you'd think the other guy in the booth (Something Martinez i think) was his butt buddy constantly saying "here with Hall of Famer Jim Palmer" "Here with the great Jim Palmer" and stuff like that every chance he gets. But I'll let that slide cause Jim can do whatever they hell he wants. He could go streaking across camden yards shooting a pistol into the stands and I wouldn't think any less of him.

"We're so bad right now that for us back-to-back home runs means one today and another one tomorrow" Earl Weaver

by Larry Bigbie3 on Mar 13, 2006 11:22 PM EST up 0 recs

I wouldn't think less of him either

Though it would be hard for me to think less of him. I'll get to this more in a day or two.

"My best game plan is to sit on the bench and call out specific instructions like 'C'mon Boog,' 'Get ahold of one, Frank,' or 'Let's go, Brooks.'" - Earl Weaver

by SC on Mar 14, 2006 1:25 AM EST up 0 recs

also...

check out this little tidbit from Roch Around the Clock in the Sun:

Not too long ago, some readers made suggestions as to which player ranked as the toughest Oriole. Someone mentioned Brady Anderson's appendicitis in 1996. He had it, then he didn't. Coincidentally, Anderson sent me a text message on Thursday. Your basic, "Hey dude, how's it going?" So I asked him about the diagnosis, and what happened.

Anderson had an ultrasound while the team was in Boston to find the source of his pain. One doctor said his appendix had to be removed. "I couldn't believe it," Anderson said last week. "I had 32 home runs at the time."

Anderson sought more opinions, and a different doctor said the condition might go away in rare cases, if he could deal with the pain. He stayed in bed for a few days and resumed playing. But the Orioles' head trainer, Richie Bancells, had to find landing points for the pilot on the team charter that returned to Baltimore, in case of an emergency.

"I was afraid it was going to burst while we were in the air," Bancells said.

Anderson came back and hit 18 more home runs, and the Orioles qualified for the playoffs in the final weekend. He later joined a group of major leaguers who toured Japan. I'll leave the rest of his story out of this entry, but it was good stuff. Trust me.

Anderson broke his ribs the following spring and was told he'd be out for a few months. He kept playing anyway, reinjuring the ribs, and helped the Orioles go wire to wire in the AL East. Again, he ignored the pain.

On the last day of the following spring training, Anderson broke his hand and again refused to go on the disabled list. Probably a bad idea. "This time, you could make a case that I didn't kick (butt)," he said. "That is, if you consider a 4-for-63 start not kicking (butt)."

Anderson also tore a sternoclavicular joint, which finally put him on the DL.

"So I found when you played injured, you were thought of as a hero when you played well, and a player whose skills eroded when you didn't," he said.

"Either way, I always wanted to be on the field."

The best example might have come later, when Anderson was hit by a bus while roller blading to Camden Yards. The vehicle turned into him, and he slid under it. Talk about being thrown under a bus. Anderson lived it.

"I wanted to get out of there quick because it was a bus taking fans to the game," he said. "It hurt pretty bad. I came into the weight room and took off my pants, and I was bleeding all over the place."

Mike Bordick was the only player who saw that Anderson was hurt. "He said, 'Dude, what happened to you,'" Anderson recalled. "I said, 'Not much. A bus full of people just hit me. How are you?'

"He fell down, he was laughing so hard. I told him not to say anything, and I had a great game. Two doubles, an assist and a catch at the wall. Josh Towers pitched that day."

"Regardless of my performance, I truely believe there was never a player with less fear on the field."

Or under a moving bus.

So you tell me, should Anderson make our list?

by dtran2k3 on Mar 13, 2006 8:49 AM EST 0 recs

Great story.

One of my favorite Orioles. I always laughed if I had outfield seats at all the girls who were staring at his butt.

It always seemed to me like he was a fan favorite, and I'd never heard any of those stories in Roch's blog. Wow.

Orioles' Rebuilding Plan: Phase 1: Steal Underwear. Phase 3: Win the World Series.

by BrianS on Mar 13, 2006 9:07 AM EST up 0 recs

Popular with the ladies

I'm not sure I saw any actual evidence that supported the steroid claims. I mean yes he had one monster year, but if he was a roid user you'd think he'd have had 12 monster years.

A guy can actually just be really dialed in for one season. That happens all the time.

As for Brady's popularity with the female fans, it was insane. I think it was that poster of him with the sliding shorts on that made him so popular.

It wasn't until Brian Roberts came along that I saw a player so revered by women everywhere.

by Mike Boehm on Mar 13, 2006 11:03 AM EST 0 recs

Yeah?

Really? I always remember one woman would say he was goodlooking and another would say something to the effect of "good luck, because he's playing for the 'other team'". The guy I remember all the women loved at that time was Mike Mussina.

by Jonnypops on Mar 13, 2006 11:08 AM EST up 0 recs

ladies

im sure the ladies loved this:

http://www.femmefan.com/site/images/lookerspics/lookers2/Brady-Anderson.jpg

by dtran2k3 on Mar 13, 2006 12:18 PM EST up 0 recs

OMG

That is hilarious. He looks like he just jumped out of a C&C Music Factory video. Every-body Dance Now!

by Jonnypops on Mar 13, 2006 1:09 PM EST up 0 recs

One Year Wonderment

Wasn't it Jim Palmer who cast doubt on Anderson's 1996? I wouldn't be surprised if Anderson juiced up, primarily because I don't think I'd be surprised if we found out anyone did.

However, the one year blip is not damning. One example close to home is Davy Johnson (see stats here). The 43 HRs after being traded to Atl is a major blip. I assume he had a chip on his shoulder, not that he juiced up for a year in 1973. Baseball has plenty of one year wonders.

I don't recall Jim Palmer having evidence. It's different when nobodies like us speculate in a chat. Someone with his stature should be more careful and measured with their comments.

"I'd love to see the team be much better." Peter Angelos

by drj on Mar 13, 2006 5:10 PM EST 0 recs

re:

Yeah it was Palmer. Palmer who has zero evidence of anything, but since he said it, everyone reported it like it was news.

"My best game plan is to sit on the bench and call out specific instructions like 'C'mon Boog,' 'Get ahold of one, Frank,' or 'Let's go, Brooks.'" - Earl Weaver

by SC on Mar 13, 2006 5:15 PM EST up 0 recs