Dave Anderson (anderda02)

David Carter Anderson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lb.
• School Memphis State University
• High School Gibbs High School (St. Petersburg)
• Debut May 8, 1983
• Final Game October 3, 1992
• Born August 1, 1960 in Louisville, KY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Dave Anderson played 10 seasons in the big leagues, all in the National League. He appeared in the 1988 World Series.

He was born in Louisville, KY and attended the Memphis State University. He and Dan Uggla are, through 2019, the players from Memphis with the most major league at-bats. Dave was signed as a 1st round pick in the 1981 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and scout Carl Loewenstine. He played two seasons in the minors (1981-82) before spending much of 1983 in the bigs. He later spent some time in the minors in 1985 and 1992. In the majors, Dave was not exactly an everyday player, but he appeared frequently. In 1984 he had 374 at-bats, in 1985-88 and 1991 he had over 200 at-bats, and in 1983 and 1989-90 he had over 100 at-bats. Only in his last major league season did he have fewer than 100 at-bats.

Anderson experienced a rough post All-Star break meltdown in 1988. Before the break, he hit .282 with 1 home run and 16 RBI. After the break, he hit .209 with 1 home run and 4 RBI in 140 plate appearances. This explains why Alfredo Griffin started all the Dodgers' postseason games that year, in spite of a sub-.200 batting average. Dave was the decoy on deck hitter in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series when Tommy Lasorda summoned Kirk Gibson for his date with destiny.

Anderson began his coaching and managing career in 1994 as manager of the Jamestown Jammers which was the only Detroit Tigers affiliate to make the playoffs that year. He managed in the Tiger's system until June 2000 when he resigned as skipper of the Toledo Mud Hens so that he could coach at his alma mater. He spent four seasons at the University of Memphis (2001-04), compiling a 104-116 career record.

Anderson returned to the professional ranks in 2005-2006 as the minor league infield coordinator for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He joined the Texas Rangers organization in 2007 as manager of the Frisco RoughRiders, followed by one year as the Ranger's minor league field coordinator. He became the third base coach for the Rangers in 2009, staying in the position until 2012. In 2013 he swapped positions with first base coach Gary Pettis. Anderson may be best remembered for a coaching gaffe in April 2011. Coaching third base in a battle with the Tigers, Anderson had slugger Josh Hamilton tag up and attempt to score on an infield pop fly when home plate was briefly uncovered. Victor Martinez's tag resulted in a small fracture of Hamilton's leg, costing him over one month of action. After the game, Josh referred to Anderson's decision as "stupid", later apologizing.

In 2014, he moved to the Baltimore Orioles as a minor league infield instructor. He returned to managing for one season in 2015 when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hired him to manage the AAA Salt Lake Bees, only to be replaced for 2016 by Keith Johnson, after a 58-86 season. Anderson went back to the Orioles in 2016 as their minor league infield coordinator, a position he held through the 2019 season. He was scheduled to manage the Delmarva Shorebirds in 2020 before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the minor league season. Anderson did manage the Shorebirds in 2021.

During his career, Anderson also managed the 1997 Honolulu Sharks in the Hawaii Winter League. Two decades later he managed the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League in 2018.

He is not to be confused with another person of the same name, Dave (S.) Anderson, who played 100 years earlier.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1994	Jamestown Jammers	New York-Penn League	42-32	4th	Detroit Tigers	Lost in 1st round
1995	Lakeland Tigers	Florida State League	64-69	9th	Detroit Tigers
1996	Lakeland Tigers	Florida State League	61-77	13th	Detroit Tigers
1997	Jacksonville Suns	Southern League	66-73	8th	Detroit Tigers
1998	Jacksonville Suns	Southern League	88-54	1st (t)	Detroit Tigers	Lost League Finals
1999	Jacksonville Suns	Southern League	75-66	3rd	Detroit Tigers
2000	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	26-38	--	Detroit Tigers		replaced by Glenn Ezell on June 24
2007	Frisco Rough Riders	Texas League	85-55	1st	Texas Rangers	Lost in 1st round
2015	Salt Lake Bees	Pacific Coast League	58-86	15th(t)	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2020	Delmarva Shorebirds	South Atlantic League	Season cancelled
2021	Delmarva Shorebirds	Low-A East	68-52	4th (t)	Baltimore Orioles