Varney Samuel "Varn" Anderson ( – ) was a

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 ...

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, ...

who played for the Indianapolis Hoosiers and the Washington Senators.

Professional career

Early minor league years

Anderson played professionally at least as early as 1887 for the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

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 split the season between the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

and St. Paul Apostles of the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Wester ...

Indianapolis Hoosiers

At the age of 23, Anderson broke into the major leagues with the Indianapolis Hoosiers. In just one season, , Anderson pitched just two games going 0–1 with three

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

with a 4.50

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 12

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

Washington Senators

In , Anderson played and managed the non-affiliated Burlington Hawkeyes. For the next three seasons, there is no record of Anderson playing for any major league or minor league team. He finally joined the Washington Senators where in his first year, , Anderson went 0–2 with three strikeouts and a 7.07 ERA in 14 innings pitched. The next season, , Anderson was used considerably more. He was primarily a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

but did make a few relief appearances. In 29 games, 25 starts, Anderson went 9–16 with 35 strikeouts, 18

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and a 5.86 ERA in 204 innings pitched. Anderson's final season with the Senators was in . Anderson went 0–1 with a 13.00 ERA in only two games with nine innings pitched. Anderson continued playing in the minors in and in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, and in for the Rock Island based in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

. File:Varney Anderson.jpeg File:Varney Anderson - Washington Senators.jpg File:Varney Anderson - Pitcher.jpg File:Varney Samuel "Varn" Anderson, Pitcher, St. Paul Apostles, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes MET DP846353.jpg, alt=Standing man in baseball uniform throwing ball, Varney Anderson, 1888

References

External links

*Career statistics and bio a
Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Varney Major League Baseball pitchers Indianapolis Hoosiers (NL) players Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Baseball players from Kane County, Illinois 1866 births 1941 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Minor league baseball managers Milwaukee Cream Citys players Oakland Greenhood & Morans players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players St. Paul Apostles players Detroit Wolverines (minor league) players Burlington Babies players Ottumwa (minor league baseball) players Burlington Hawkeyes players Charleston Seagulls players Lynchburg Hill Climbers players Mobile Bluebirds players Atlanta (minor league baseball) players Rockford Forest Citys players Sterling (minor league baseball) players Galesburg (minor league baseball) players Burlington (minor league baseball) players Sportspeople from Geneva, Illinois Rock Island Islanders players