It might not happen in 2020, but White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson says he’ll win a Gold Glove

GLENDALE, Ariz. — White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson won a batting title in 2019. Now he’s setting his sights on a Gold Glove.

“I’m not saying I’m going to get it this year,” Anderson said. “Not saying next year. We don’t know when it will be, but I know I will get one.”

That’s a lot to say for the player who led the majors in errors last season. But Anderson has not been short on words or confidence and says he has the work ethic and determination to achieve that goal.

“I’m going to do the work that it requires,” he said Saturday.

“My overall game, I can’t tell you enough how good I want to be, how hard I work. I just come to the ballpark every day to perfect my craft, and I want to be the best.”

Anderson personifies the Sox’ ‘‘Change the Game” slogan by embracing the bat flip and speaking quietly but with unwavering confidence and swagger. It’s respectful enough, he said, to keep him from crossing a line.

“You do it in the right way, certain people can’t say certain things to you if you carry yourself in the right way, and I feel like I carry myself in a respectful way,” he said. “That’s why the feedback has been positive.

“When I talk, people listen. I have a lot to say. People are in tune when I speak. People gravitate to what is real. That is just being honest and open.”

Other quotable bits from Anderson’s first media sit-down of spring training:

† “I don’t let anybody inside my head. I don’t listen to noise. I do what makes me happy, but in the right way.”

† “I’m not under no contract on who I am to nobody. So that’s what I grew up doing to be the person I am. I have one life, and I want to live it to the fullest. I don’t want anybody to control me on what I can do and can’t do.’’

† “Everybody knows what we are here to do. We are here to win a championship, and we are here to take it all. We have a chance to do something crazy. It’s a playoff lineup. That’s what everybody is talking about, right? So why not own up to it and set the bar high, go to the playoffs and win the championship.’’

Gonzalez making ‘good progress’

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez, signed in the offseason to fill a spot in the rotation, is starting from behind in camp because of a sore shoulder but has been throwing and seems to be progressing.

“I told them right away, ‘Listen, this is something I think is minor,’ ’’ Gonzalez, 34, said when speaking with reporters for the first time this spring.

“I feel good; I’m already throwing. On Sunday, we start a little longer, then we hit the long toss. It’s good progress. We got it right before it started progressing a little bit longer.”

In 2019, Gonzalez made only two starts between May 27 and Aug. 3 because of a ‘‘dead arm’’ and tight shoulder, but he helped the Brewers’ charge to the postseason by compiling a 3.50 ERA in 87 ¹⁄₃ innings.