Outfielder, Washington
Senators
Age: 32
2nd season
with Senators (1st complete)
Bats – Both,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 180
Prior to 1906:
Born in Norway, Anderson immigrated to the United States with his parents at age 8. Settling in Worcester, Massachusetts, he first played baseball professionally with Worcester’s team in the New England League where he started out as a pitcher. Released in May, he caught on with Haverhill in the same league and his lack of control led to his being quickly converted into an outfielder. A far better hitter than a pitcher, he batted .354 until being signed by Brooklyn of the NL where he finished out the year. His speed worked to his advantage in the outfield where his defense was not as strong as his batting. In 1895 he hit .288 with 14 triples, 10 home runs, 89 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, a .316 on-base percentage, and a .452 slugging percentage. Called the “Swedish Apollo” since his mother was Swedish and his father Norwegian, and because of his handsome good looks, he was also tagged “Big John” since he was also one of the tallest players in baseball at the time and “Honest John” for rarely arguing with umpires. He also used an unusually heavy bat and was praised for being a steady and conscientious player who was a consistently productive hitter. If not proficient in the field, he was versatile, and in 1896 when Brooklyn’s regular first baseman George LaChance suffered a hand injury, Anderson played in 42 games at first in addition to all three outfield positions. He batted .314 with 23 doubles, 17 triples, one home run, 55 RBIs, 37 stolen bases, a .344 OBP, and a .453 slugging percentage. Playing almost exclusively in left field in 1897, he hit .325 with 28 doubles, 12 triples, 4 home runs, 85 RBIs, 29 stolen bases, a .357 OBP, and a .455 slugging percentage. Anderson was dealt to the NL’s Washington Senators early in the 1898 season and went on to lead the league in slugging (.494) and triples (22) while batting .294 with 33 doubles, 9 home runs, 81 RBIs, 20 steals, and a .348 OBP. He was also back to splitting time between the outfield and first base for the eleventh-place Senators (in a 12-team league). Brooklyn insisted that the deal with Washington was a player loan and Anderson was back in Brooklyn in 1899 where he hit .269 with 18 doubles, 7 triples, 4 home runs, 92 RBIs, 25 stolen bases, a .317 OBP, and a .369 slugging percentage. Anderson was on the move again in 1900, this time to Milwaukee of the not-yet-major American League where he appeared primarily at first base and led the league with 63 stolen bases while batting .310 with 32 doubles, 9 triples, 2 home runs, and a .413 slugging percentage. The AL went major in 1901 and Anderson had another productive season with Milwaukee, hitting .330 with 46 doubles, 7 triples, 8 home runs, 99 RBIs, 35 stolen bases, a .360 OBP, and a .476 slugging percentage. The team moved to St. Louis and was rechristened the Browns in 1902, and Anderson had a lesser performance, batting .284 with 29 doubles, 6 triples, 4 home runs, 85 RBIs, a .316 OBP, and a .385 slugging percentage. In 1903 Anderson was involved in a play in a September game against the New York Highlanders (now Yankees) in which he was picked off in the eighth inning after taking a big lead at first base toward second, which was occupied by a baserunner, that was scored as his having been caught stealing. Widely reported in the press as an attempt to steal an occupied base, it led to any mental blunder by a player being tagged as “pulling a John Anderson”. For the year he again hit .284 with 34 doubles, 8 triples, 2 home runs, 78 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, and a .312 OBP. In the offseason he was traded to the Highlanders, who strongly contended in 1904. Anderson, again splitting time between the outfield and first base, batted .278 with 27 doubles, 12 triples, 3 home runs, 82 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and a .313 OBP. Off to a slow start in 1905, Anderson was dealt to the Senators and for the year hit .279 with 24 doubles, 7 triples, a home run, 52 RBIs, 31 stolen bases, and a .323 OBP.
1906 Season Summary
Appeared in 151
games
LF – 151
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 609 [18]
At Bats – 583 [9]
Runs – 62
Hits – 158 [11]
Doubles – 25 [7,
tied with five others]
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 3 [8,
tied with five others]
RBI – 70 [7]
Bases on Balls
– 19
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 37
Stolen Bases – 39
[1, tied with Elmer Flick]
Caught Stealing
– N/A
Average - .271
OBP - .296
Slugging Pct. -
.343
Total Bases – 200
[10, tied with Willie Keeler]
GDP – N/A
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 3
Sac Flies – N/A
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 13, HR - 2, RBI - 33, SB – 21, AVG - .284, OBP – .320
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Bos. Americans 4/20, (in 5 AB) at Detroit 6/4
Longest hitting
streak – 12 games
HR at home – 0
HR on road – 3
Most home runs,
game – 1 (in 4 AB) at Cleveland 6/11, (in 3 AB) at St. Louis Browns 6/18, (in 4
AB) at Cleveland 9/18
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 3 vs. Phila. A’s 4/17, at Bos. Americans 5/3
Pinch-hitting – No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 320
Put Outs – 286
Assists – 19
Errors – 15
DP – 2
Pct. – .953
---
The Senators (aka
Nationals) went 55-95 to finish seventh in the AL, 37.5 games behind the
pennant-winning Chicago White Sox while leading the league in stolen bases
(233) and fewest doubles (144). The Senators got off to a slow start, were
14-23 by the end of May, and remained lackluster throughout the remainder of
the season.
Aftermath of 1906:
Anderson continued to play well for a terrible club in 1907, batting .288 with a .359 OBP in 87 games until he quit the team and announced his retirement in August. After playing semipro ball for the remainder of the summer, he was sold to the Chicago White Sox in the offseason. In his last major league season he batted .262 with 47 RBIs and a .321 OBP. In 1909 he played for the Providence Grays of the Eastern League and hit .262 with 31 stolen bases. For his major league career Anderson batted .290 with 1843 hits that included 328 doubles, 124 triples, and 50 home runs. He scored 871 runs and produced 978 RBIs, 338 stolen bases, a .329 OBP, and a .405 slugging percentage. With the American League’s Senators he batted .281 with 370 hits, 145 runs scored, 58 doubles, 14 triples, 4 home runs, 152 RBIs, 80 stolen bases, a .323 OBP, and a .356 slugging percentage. After baseball he served as a police officer in Worcester and died in 1949 at age 75.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.
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