Anderson Lawmen

The Anderson Lawmen played in the 1995 Mid-America League. They finished one game behind the champion Lafayette Leopards with a 33-26 record. They drew 12,579 fans, second in the league. Led by Executive of the Year, General Manager Dan Beauchamp and manager of the year Jay Walker, Anderson had four All-Star players - OF Mike Shirley (.325, 18 SB), P Dustin Riggs (6-4, 3.36, a league-leading 83 Ks), P Dylan Tedders and DH Brian Heigle (.347, a league-leading 6 HR and 51 RBI). Heigle was also named the league's MVP.

In '96, the Lawmen moved to the Heartland League and were 32-28, a half-game behind the champion Lafayette Leopards in the new four-team circuit. They were third in attendance (9,611). Walker again managed the team, which had three All-Stars: 1B Chris Webb (.351, 4th in the league), 2B Ron D'Auteuil (.325, 52 runs) and OF Toby Ricard (.353, third in the league and the leader with 59 runs, 83 hits and 7 triples).

The 1997 Lawmen had a new manager, Dave Edwards. The team went 13-21 in a rocky first half but rebounded with a 19-16 second half to take the northern title. In the playoffs, they beat the Altoona Rail Kings 2 games to 0 in the semifinals, but fell in the finals 3 games to 1 to the Columbia Mules. The club from Anderson, IN drew the fewest in the league (7,134) in their last year. Brian Piddington (8-2, 3 Sv, 2.32) was the top pitcher while Heath Bailey (.341, 22 SB) paced the offense.

Sources: 1996-98 Baseball Almanac

Team was named in honor of the Anderson city and the Indiana state police - Baseball Team Names,1869-2012 (2012) Rick Worth.