Marlon Anderson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Marlon Anderson |
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Anderson with the Hagerstown Suns in 2011
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| Second baseman | |||
| Born: January 6, 1974 Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| September 8, 1998, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| April 10, 2009, for the New York Mets | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .265 | ||
| Home runs | 63 | ||
| Runs batted in | 371 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Marlon Ordell Anderson (born January 6, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for six different teams over 12 seasons.
Marlon was well-known for his "clutch hits." These are important hits that happen in key moments of a game. Many sports writers called him one of the best pinch hitters in baseball. A pinch hitter is a player who bats in place of another player. After his playing career, Anderson became a hitting coach. He coached for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2018.
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Early Life and School Baseball
Marlon Anderson went to Prattville High School from 1988 to 1992. He was a good student and played both football and baseball. His baseball coach, Roger Lambert, also coached Marlon's two younger brothers, Keto and Randy.
College Baseball Career
After high school, Anderson went to the University of South Alabama. In his final year, he had a great batting average of .357. He also hit thirteen home runs. Because of his excellent play, he was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. He was also chosen as a first-team All-American by Baseball America. In 1994, he played summer baseball for the Wareham Gatemen. This was part of the Cape Cod Baseball League, a famous league for college players.
Professional Baseball Journey
The Philadelphia Phillies picked Marlon Anderson in the second round of the 1995 amateur draft. This meant they chose him to play for their team.
In 1998, while playing for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, he was named the International League Rookie of the Year. On September 8 of that same year, he made his first appearance in Major League Baseball. He came in as a pinch hitter and hit a home run! This was against Mel Rojas of the New York Mets.
Playing for the Philadelphia Phillies
Anderson was the main second baseman for the Phillies in 1999, 2001, and 2002. In 2003, the Phillies decided to make a change. They replaced him with Plácido Polanco at second base. Also, a talented young player named Chase Utley was coming up through their minor league system.
After this, Anderson signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a free agent. In 2004, he joined the St. Louis Cardinals. He became a useful "utility infielder," meaning he could play different positions in the infield. He also became known for his great pinch hitting skills. That year, he tied for the most pinch hits in the National League with 17.
Time with the New York Mets
In 2005, Anderson signed with the New York Mets. He mostly played as a pinch hitter. He was very good in these situations, batting over .300.
One of his most exciting moments with the Mets happened on June 11, 2005. It was a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In the ninth inning, Anderson hit an amazing inside-the-park home run. The ball bounced far away from the center fielder. Anderson ran all the way around the bases. He barely made it home, crashing into the catcher José Molina's mask. This hit tied the game!
Playing for the Washington Nationals
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On November 18, 2005, Marlon Anderson signed a two-year contract with the Washington Nationals. This contract meant that the only two players named Marlon in the big leagues would be teammates again. The other player was Marlon Byrd. They had also been teammates on the Phillies in 2002.
Joining the Los Angeles Dodgers
On August 31, 2006, the Nationals traded Anderson to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers were hoping to make the playoffs. Anderson was brought in to help them, especially as a pinch hitter. However, he ended up becoming the starting left fielder when another player had some trouble.
On September 18, 2006, Anderson had an incredible game against the San Diego Padres. He got five hits in five tries, including two home runs! His second home run that night was part of a record-tying moment. It was the last of four home runs hit in a row by the Dodgers in the 9th inning. This amazing comeback helped the Dodgers tie the Padres for first place in their division. The Dodgers later made the playoffs as a "wild card" team.
In 2007, younger players like Matt Kemp and James Loney started playing more for the Dodgers. This meant less playing time for Anderson. He was released by the Dodgers on June 29, 2007. He then signed a minor league contract with the Mets.
Return to the New York Mets
Just one week later, on July 19, Anderson was called back up to play for the Mets. His first game back was against the Dodgers, the team that had just released him! He had a hit that brought in two runs in that game.
On August 29, 2007, Anderson was part of a controversial play. It happened in a game between the Mets and the Phillies. Anderson slid into the Phillies' second baseman while trying to break up a double play. The umpire called him out for interference, which ended the inning. The Mets lost that game, which was a big one in the race for the division title.
Anderson signed a new two-year contract to stay with the Mets in 2008. On May 23, 2008, he hurt his hamstring during a game. On April 11, 2009, the Mets released him again.
Playing for the Newark Bears
On June 14, 2009, Anderson signed with the Newark Bears. This team was part of an independent league called the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played 7 games for them before ending his playing career.
Life After Playing Baseball
Coaching Career
After he stopped playing, Marlon Anderson became a hitting coach. He coached for the Hagerstown Suns in 2011 and 2012. In 2018, he was hired to be the hitting coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Broadcasting Career
Anderson also worked in broadcasting. In 2014, he was a part-time analyst for Philadelphia Phillies games. In 2015, he joined Comcast SportsNet as a studio analyst. He would talk about the games before and after they were played.
