Tim Anderson, who only played college baseball because a Mississippi community college took a chance on him, has retired after 10 years in the MLB.
Anderson was a prospect from Alabama with little appeal to colleges, but East Central Community College gave him a chance to play – with a scholarship included – in 2012. In his freshman season in Decatur, Anderson batted .360 with four home runs, 37 RBI, and 30 stolen bases.
Still, no Division I schools wanted him.
He returned to East Central for his sophomore season, which turned out to be one of the most impressive JUCO campaigns to date. Anderson led the country with a .495 batting average and was an All-American with plenty of larger colleges eyeing him.
Though he committed to play at UAB, the Chicago White Sox were also eyeing the shortstop and had money they wanted to bet on his future in the major leagues.
The White Sox drafted Anderson with the 17th overall selection in the 2013 MLB Draft and inked him for a $2.16 million signing bonus. He made his big-league debut in June 2016 and finished his rookie season with a .283 batting average with nine home runs.
In 2019, Anderson was the first White Sox since Frank Thomas in 1997 to win the AL batting crown. His .335 average was the best in the entire MLB that year, a mark he paired with 18 home runs and 56 RBI.
Anderson finished his career, which included eight seasons with the White Sox and short stints with Miami and the Los Angeles Angels, with a .276 average, 98 home runs, 350 RBI, and 122 steals in 991 games. He won the Silver Slugger Award in 2020 and was named an All-Star in 2021 and 2022.
The 33-year-old announced his retirement Monday after not being signed ahead of the current season due to ongoing injuries.
“I fought for the last two, three years. You know, I trained and I just couldn’t get the body to operate like it used to,” Anderson said. “So, I mean, I’m not one of those guys that’s just going to just continue to try to get back to somewhere where I just, you know, I couldn’t get back there.”
Always a White Sox, TA7
Tim Anderson officially announced his retirement after 10 seasons (2016-2025) in the major leagues. pic.twitter.com/PFhQBi1Svj
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 10, 2026
The White Sox said they will honor Anderson before their Sept. 17 game against Detroit. As part of the tribute, the team will wear its Nike City Connect “Southside” uniforms for the only time this season. The black-and-white uniforms with Gothic script and pinstripes were worn by Anderson and the White Sox when they won the AL Central in 2021.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
