CLEVELAND — It was a planned day off for Tim Anderson, manager Pedro Grifol said.
Perhaps. The White Sox manager has been playing his regulars a lot despite having nothing to play for at 45-68 after a 5-3 win against the Guardians Sunday. Andrew Vaughn and Andrew Benintendi also did not start the day after Anderson and Jose Ramirez squared off near second base, sparking a nasty benches-clearing brawl.
Anderson got decked by a Ramirez haymaker, falling straight back like a dazed boxer hitting the canvas.
“Down goes Anderson!” shouted Guardians radio announcer Tom Hamilton. “Down goes Anderson” read a banner in the Progressive Field stands Sunday.
Grifol on Sunday morning said Anderson was OK.
There’s no doubt Anderson’s pride was hurt. After he got up, he tried getting back to Ramirez but to no avail.
“Yeah, he’s doing good [physically],” Grifol said Sunday morning. “He was going to get a day off today like Benni and Vaughn. It just so happens it might not look that way.
“I don’t think [he was dazed]. But people are going to have their opinion.”
An opinion gaining traction has Anderson’s best interests, and perhaps his desire and maybe the Sox’ best interests as well if he had been dealt before the trade deadline. The former All-Star and batting champ has dealt with family-related issues off the field, which he made public, an unfortunate knee injury and the worst slump of his career.
The Sox have Anderson, 30, under contract control for one more year, at $14 million, but a change of scenery might do him good. With 2021 first-round draft choice shortstop Colson Montgomery showing well at Double-A Birmingham, it’s not far-fetched to think the Sox, who traded seven veterans before the Aug. 1 deadline, would deal Anderson in the off-season.
Once viewed as the face of the franchise, Anderson’s persona became much more subdued. The same high energy, bat-flipping leadoff man who walked off the Yankees in a signature home run at the Field of Dreams game in 2021 often sparked and set the tone for his team. But Anderson found himself answering questions about trade rumors before the deadline.
“Yeah, it’s a business,” he said on July 25. “That’s the part you look at. Just roll with it. You can’t really speak on a whole lot. Just play and see what happens.”
Anderson hasn’t made himself available to media as much as he has in the past, and wasn’t available after the fight Saturday — he returned to the team hotel before the game — or Sunday.
He and Ramirez are facing suspensions from Major League Baseball, possibly to be handed down Monday when the team is in Chicago to play the Yankees. Grifol and Guardians manager Terry Francona and Guardians third base coach Mike Sarbaugh were also ejected.
Anderson was suspended for the third time in four seasons last August for making contact with umpire Nick Mahrley. He was also suspended one game last April for making an obscene gesture toward the crowd in Cleveland. It was reduced to a fine. And he started the 2022 season suspended for an incident in Detroit in September, 2021.
In any event, the Sox called Saturday’s 7-4 win a big one considering the circumstances. Tension was building between teams who had chirped at each other in recent games, and Ramirez took issue with Anderson standing over him Saturday after Ramirez doubled in the sixth inning. The combatants then squared off, and Anderson lost a fight.
Social media scored it a TKO.
“That was a game we absolutely had to win,” Aaron Bummer said after he pitched the last two innings Saturday. “Yeah, that was fun. Best one I’ve been a part of.”
“Everybody was out there fighting for each other and protecting each other,” Grifol said. “Could it have been the best win of the year? Possibly. If you’re basing it on emotions, yeah, it was the best win of the year.”
A three-run ninth capped a 5-3 win Sunday. No “win it for Tim” sentiments were heard, just “win it and get out of here,” said Jimmy Lambert, who recorded his first save.
“And that’s what we did.”
