CLEVELAND — It was a planned day off for Tim Anderson, manager Pedro Grifol said.
Perhaps. The White Sox’ manager has been playing his regulars a lot despite having nothing to play for at 45-68 after a 5-3 win against the Guardians on Sunday. Andrew Vaughn and Andrew Benintendi also did not start the day after Anderson and Jose Ramirez squared off near second base, sparking a nasty benches-clearing brawl.
Anderson got decked by a Ramirez haymaker, falling straight back like a dazed boxer hitting the canvas.
“Down goes Anderson!” shouted Guardians radio announcer Tom Hamilton. “Down goes Anderson” read a banner in the Progressive Field stands Sunday.
Grifol on Sunday morning said Anderson was OK.
There’s no doubt Anderson’s pride was hurt. After he got up, he tried getting back to Ramirez but to no avail.
“Yeah, he’s doing good [physically],” Grifol said Sunday morning. “He was going to get a day off today like Benni and Vaughn. It just so happens it might not look that way.
“I don’t think [he was dazed]. But people are going to have their opinion.”
An opinion gaining traction says Anderson’s best interests, and maybe the Sox’ as well, would have been served by a trade before the deadline. The former All-Star and batting champ has dealt with family-related issues off the field, which he made public, an unfortunate knee injury and the worst slump of his career.
Anderson, 30, is under contract control for one more year, at $14 million, but a change of scenery might do him good. With shortstop Colson Montgomery, the Sox’ 2021 first-round draft pick, showing well at Double-A Birmingham, it’s not hard to see the Sox, who traded seven veterans before the Aug. 1 deadline, dealing Anderson in the offseason.
Once viewed as the face of the franchise, Anderson’s look has became much more subdued. The same high-energy, bat-flipping, energizing leadoff man who walked off the Yankees on a signature home run at the “Field of Dreams” game in 2021 found himself answering questions about trade rumors before the deadline.
“Yeah, it’s a business,” he said July 25. “That’s the part you look at. Just roll with it.”
Anderson hasn’t made himself available to media as much as he has in the past, and he wasn’t available after the fight Saturday — he returned to the team hotel before the game ended. He was in the clubhouse after the game Sunday but still wasn’t talking.
He and Ramirez are facing suspensions from Major League Baseball. Grifol, Guardians manager Terry Francona and Guardians third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh also were ejected.
Anderson was suspended for the third time in four seasons last August for making contact with umpire Nick Mahrley. He also was suspended one game last April for making an obscene gesture toward the crowd in Cleveland. It was reduced to a fine. And he started the 2022 season suspended for an incident in Detroit in September 2021.
In any event, the Sox called their 7-4 win Saturday a big one considering the circumstances. Tension was building between teams who had chirped at each other in recent games, and Ramirez took issue with Anderson standing over him after Ramirez doubled in the sixth inning. The combatants then squared off, and Anderson lost the fight.
“That was a game we absolutely had to win,” Aaron Bummer said after he pitched the last two innings Saturday. “Yeah, that was fun. Best one I’ve been a part of.”
“Everybody was out there fighting for each other and protecting each other,” Grifol said. “Could it have been the best win of the year? Possibly. If you’re basing it on emotions, yeah, it was the best win of the year.”
A three-run ninth capped the Sox’ win Sunday. No “win it for Tim” sentiments were heard, just “win it and get out of here,” said Jimmy Lambert, who recorded his first save.
“And that’s what we did.”
