Jason Roger Anderson (born June 9, 1979) is an American former professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

and current

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

coach. He is currently serving as head coach of the Eastern Illinois Panthers baseball team.

Career

In 1997, Anderson was all-state during his senior year at Danville High School. He compiled a 14–1 record and tied the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

state record for consecutive

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s with six in a row. Anderson attended the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

on a baseball scholarship for two years, earning All-American and Academic All-American honors. He was named the Illinois Co-Newcomer of the Year in and received the George Huff Academic Award in . Anderson was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year in . Anderson was drafted by the

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

in the

2000 Major League Baseball Draft The 2000 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held in June 2000. A total of 1,452 players were drafted. First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins ...

and signed by scout Steve Lemke. In the season, he became the first player from the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pl ...

to become a New York Yankee. ( Wily Mo Peña was the first Staten Island alum to make it to the majors, but he did it with the

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

.) The "Baby Bombers" retired Anderson's #19 on July 14, 2003, in tribute. That day was also proclaimed "Jason Anderson Day" in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. Anderson earned his first major league win that year in 22 appearances with the Yankees, but midway through the year, he was traded to 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 ...

in a deal that brought

Armando Benítez Armando Germán Benítez (born November 3, 1972) is a Dominican former major league relief pitcher. Benítez debuted with the Baltimore Orioles in 1994 and within a few years became their closer. He was a reliever for several other organizations ...

to the Yankees. In the season, Anderson was designated for assignment by the Mets, and 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 ...

claimed him off waivers. He only pitched one inning for the team all year, giving up five runs, and in the next year, he rejoined the Yankees, making the major league roster after

Paul Quantrill Paul John Quantrill (born November 3, 1968) is a Canadian former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons, from 1992 to 2005; his longest tenure was six seasons with the Toronto B ...

and Mike Stanton were designated for assignment. 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. ...

claimed Anderson off waivers from the Yankees on February 15, . Anderson was signed November 16, 2006, by 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 ...

to a minor league contract. Anderson landed in the

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

organization May 9, , when he was signed to a minor league contract and sent to the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal Exp ...

; however, he did not get called up in 2007 and on December 7, 2007, was re-signed by the Phillies to a minor league contract. He split the 2007 season between the Triple-A

and the Double-A

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word re ...

. He split between the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

and Double-A Reading Phillies. He became a free agent after the 2008 season and re-signed with the Phillies in January . On March 7, 2011, he signed a contract with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American professional Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League (EL), known as the Double-A Nort ...

.Atlantic League transactions
He retired on July 19. In fall 2012, he was named the pitching coach of Eastern Illinois, an NCAA Division I college baseball program. After serving in this role for three seasons, he was promoted to head coach.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Minor League Baseball: Stats: Player: Jason Anderson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Jason 1979 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from Illinois Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Eastern Illinois Panthers baseball coaches Greensboro Bats players Illinois Fighting Illini baseball players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players New York Yankees players Norwich Navigators players Ottawa Lynx players Sportspeople from Danville, Illinois Portland Beavers players Reading Phillies players Somerset Patriots players Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players