Alfred Walton Anderson (January 28, 1914 – June 23, 1985) was an American professional baseball shortstop who appeared in 146 Major League Baseball games for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

during the , and seasons. Anderson was born in

Gainesville, Georgia The city of Gainesville is the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it is often called the "Poultry Capital of t ...

; he threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as tall and . His professional career began in the low minor leagues in 1938, but Anderson would require only three years of seasoning before making the Pirates at age 27 in 1941. With future

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

shortstop

Arky Vaughan Joseph Floyd "Arky" Vaughan (March 9, 1912 – August 30, 1952) was an American professional baseball player. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, between 1932 and 1948, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Dodgers, primarily as a sh ...

starting only 90 of the club's 156 official games, Anderson was penciled into the Bucs' starting lineup 56 times; overall, he batted .215 with 48

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

. The following year, with Vaughan traded to the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

, Anderson backed up Pete Coscarart, starting 40 games and improving his average to .271, but he also spent part of the summer in the minors with the top-level Minneapolis Millers. From 1944 to 1945 Anderson served in the United States Navy during World War II. He returned to the Pirates for two

pinch hitting In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American ...

appearances in April of 1946, then was sent to the minor-league Hollywood Stars. He left baseball after that season. In his 146 MLB

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

, he batted .238 lifetime; his 93 hits included 11 doubles, three

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, and one home run, struck September 14, 1941, at Forbes Field against

Lefty Hoerst Frank Joseph "Lefty" Hoerst (August 11, 1917 – February 18, 2000) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched all or part of five seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies. He made his MLB debut in 1940, pitching in six games with the Phillies ...

of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Retrosheetbr>box score (14 September 1941, Game 1): "Pittsburgh Pirates 2, Philadelphia Phillies 1"
/ref> He was credited with 17 career runs batted in and six

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s. Anderson died in Albany, Georgia, aged 71.

References

External links

1914 births 1985 deaths Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Hollywood Stars players Major League Baseball shortstops Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players New Bern Bears players People from Gainesville, Georgia Pittsburgh Pirates players Savannah Indians players Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area United States Navy personnel of World War II {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub