Dwain Cleaven Anderson (born November 23, 1947) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

Oakland A's

The

El Cerrito High School El Cerrito High School is a four-year public high school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. It is located on Ashbury Avenue in El Cerrito, California, United States and serves students from El Cerrito, a portion of eastern Richm ...

standout signed as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the Kansas City A's in at just seventeen years old. He batted .249 with 31 home runs and 250

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

over seven seasons in Athletics'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

to earn a September call-up in . Anderson made his major league debut in the second game of a September 3 doubleheader against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. In his second

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

, he singled off Ray Corbin, and came around to score Oakland's only

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

of the game. On September 18, Anderson's ninth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

broke a 2–2 tie to lead his A's to a 4–2 victory over the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

. He started the following season back in the minors, but an injury to

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

Dick Green Richard Larry Green (born April 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball from through , playing for the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics. Green played on the " Swingi ...

led to a call-up in early May. He appeared in three games, and was hitless in seven at bats. On May 15, , he was traded to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

for

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Don Shaw.

St. Louis Cardinals

Anderson's career with the Cards began mostly as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) 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, A ...

and late inning defensive replacement for aging shortstop

Dal Maxvill Charles Dallan Maxvill (born February 18, 1939) is an American former shortstop, coach, and general manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his career, Maxvill played, coached, or was an executive for four World Series winners and seven ...

. As the season progressed, and Anderson's

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

hovered around .300, Maxvill was dealt to Anderson's former club, the A's. Shortly afterwards, Anderson hit his only major league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

off the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

' Bob Rauch, however, just over a week later, Anderson suffered a season ending injury. He ended the season batting .267, and was named to the

Topps All-Star Rookie Team The Topps All-Star Rookie Team, also known as the Topps ASRT, is a list of notable Major League Baseball rookie players chosen annually by Topps Company, Inc. In most years since 1960, the company has issued a special set of baseball cards featuri ...

. He entered

Spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

expecting to battle

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

for the starting shortstop job, but a poor Spring relegated him to backup utility

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He appeared in eighteen games with the Cardinals, almost exclusively as a pinch hitter, and batted just .118. Having also become something of a defensive liability, Anderson began seeing less and less playing time, and on June 7 he was traded to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

for Dave Campbell.

San Diego Padres

The highlight of his Padres career came on July 8, when his eighth inning squeeze bunt drove in Dave Roberts with the winning run over the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, however, he batted just .149 up to that point, and soon saw his playing time in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

drop as well. After the season, he was traded to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

for Lou Camilli.

Cleveland Indians

Anderson appeared in two games for the Indians, but spent most of his stay with the organization with the triple A

Oklahoma City 89ers Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northeast, Arkansas to the east, New Mexico to the west, and Colo ...

. On June 21, , he was traded to the New York Mets for Brian Ostrosser, however, he never appeared in a major league game for the Mets. He batted .264 with two home runs and fourteen RBIs for the triple A

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesape ...

before retiring. He played 149 games in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from 1971 to 1974 for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

(–),

(), and

().

References

External links

Dwain Anderson
at

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Dwain 1947 births Living people Oakland Athletics players St. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres players Cleveland Indians players Baseball players from Oakland, California Major League Baseball shortstops African-American baseball players Burlington Bees players Lewiston Broncs players Leesburg A's players Peninsula Grays players Birmingham A's players Iowa Oaks players Tidewater Tides players Oklahoma City 89ers players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen El Cerrito High School alumni