Scott Anderson

Scott Richard Anderson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 6", Weight 190 lb.
• School Oregon State University
• High School Newport High School (Bellevue)
• Debut April 8, 1987
• Final Game August 26, 1995
• Born August 1, 1962 in Corvallis, OR USA

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Biographical Information

"Harry Caray and Steve Stone had little to say about Scott. Little good, anyway. 'And here's Scott Anderson," Stone said. "A career minor leaguer. He was up one time before with the Rangers and had an ERA over nine!" Harry recited Scott's yearly minor league won-loss records and said, "Sometimes you wonder what these minor league pitchers do that impresses their parent club." I sat in my house, on my living room couch, shaking my head. The Expos needed a pitcher, and Scott deserved the promotion. He's worked hard all year. Of course, I'm biased. He's a good friend of mine. But I also know that nothing was handed to him. Sometimes you do wonder." - Steve Fireovid, with Mark Winegardner, in his chronicle of his 1990 season, The 26th Man

The Texas Rangers drafted Scott Anderson in the 7th round of the 1984 amateur draft. The 21-year-old pitcher spent the season with the Class A Midwest League Burlington Rangers. He appeared in 14 games, pitching 86 1/3 innings, going 3-6 with a 2.50 ERA. Scott spent 3 more seasons in the minors, 1985 through 1987, where he was 19-16 with a 3.43 ERA, before getting a chance in the major leagues. He received a late-season look with the Rangers in 1987. The 24-year-old appeared in 8 games, pitching 11 1/3 innings and going 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA. Anderson spent 1988 with the AAA Oklahoma City 89ers. He appeared in 38 games, pitching 97 innings and his record was 4-6 with a 4.55 ERA. On December 19th, the Rangers traded Scott to the Montreal Expos for minor league outfielder Mike Berger, who would never make the majors but would later have a career as a front office executive.

Scott spent two years, 1989 and 1990, with the Indianapolis Indians and appeared in 56 games, logging 309 2/3 innings with a 19-18, 3.24 mark. That made him one of the Indians' top pitchers in that span, and the Expos gave Scott a major league look in 1990. He had two stints with the Expos, the first from August 4-12, when he made a single outing, giving up one run in three innings of relief. He went back to Indianapolis and was called up again on September 12th. This time, he made three starts, the first of which was a gem as he combined with Scott Ruskin on a one-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 16th. After a loss, he had another outstanding start on the last day of the season, October 3rd against the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing a run on three hits while striking out seven in 6 innings; this time, the win went to Bill Sampen, leaving him with an 0-1 record in spite of a solid 3.00 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 18 innings of work. Indianapolis' 1990 season is chronicled in teammate Steve Fireovid's book The 26th Man; Anderson features prominently in the book, as he was Fireovid's roommate and closest friend on the team.

Anderson went overseas in the 1991 and 1992 seasons after being sold to the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central League on November 1, 1990. On January 26, 1993, he signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins. He spent the year with the Edmonton Trappers of the Pacific Coast League. He went 5-4, pitching 66 innings with a 3.53 ERA. On October 15th, he was granted free agency, signing on December 27th with the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent the 1994 season with the New Orleans Zephyrs, went 0-2 in 8 games with a 7.03 ERA and was granted free agency again on October 15th.

On January 29, 1995 he signed with the Kansas City Royals, initially competing for a job as a replacement player. He appeared in 15 games with the Omaha Royals, winning 5 games and losing 3, pitching 73 1/3 innings with a 4.17 ERA. The Royals gave the 32-year-old pitcher a look and he appeared in 6 games for them that year, pitching 25 1/3 innings, going 1-0 - his lone victory in the big leagues - with a 5.33 ERA. On October 16th, Scott was granted free agency again and there is no record of him in pro baseball after that date.

Sources

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Third Edition
SABR Minor League Database
Baseball-Reference.com

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