Garret Anderson calls it quits after 17 years in baseball..
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on March 1, 2011
One of the Angels’ most prominent figures in franchise history is retiring, as 38-year old Garret Anderson called it quits on Tuesday after a 17-year career with most of it spent in Southern California.
Anderson was drafted by the Angels in 1990, as he made his major league debut on July 27th, 1994 against Oakland & finished 2-for-4 with a pair of singles.
He put together an impressive rookie season, as Anderson hit .321 in 106 games with 16 home runs & 69 RBI’s, but finished 2nd in the American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Minnesota’s Marty Cordova.
Anderson’s best season came in 2002 as the Angels captured their 1st World Series championship, as he enjoyed career-highs in runs scored (93), doubles (56), & runs batted in (123).
He also dominated the All-Star Weekend in 2003, as he won the Home Run Derby, and was also named MVP of the All-Star Game.
The last player to accomplish the feat before Anderson was Cal Ripken Jr, who did it in 1991.
His best individual game occured on August 21st, 2007 as he drove in a career-high 10 runs against the New York Yankees, making him just the 13th major leaguer all-time to do so.
Anderson appeared in 2,228 games between the Angels, Braves & Dodgers over his 17-year career and finishes with 2,529 hits, a career batting average of .293 with 287 home runs and 1,365 runs batted in.
