Tim Anderson spikes bat in celebration after walk-off homer saves White Sox
Tim Anderson knows drama.
The Chicago White Sox shortstop is enjoying a breakout season on multiple fronts. Most notably, he’s bringing an elite level of swag to the ballpark.
That continued on Friday night as he busted out another epic celebration following his walk-off home run in the White Sox wild 12-11 victory against the Detroit Tigers.
Is that a flip or a spike?
Either works for Anderson.
As you’ll recall, it was Anderson’s bat-flipped home run against the Kansas City Royals earlier this month that sparked tensions and led to his suspension. Anderson was given a one-game ban for using racially charged language. Royals pitcher Brad Keller was given five games for throwing at Anderson.
After that incident, Anderson said he wouldn’t change anything about how he plays the game. He’s there to have fun and provide entertainment. That was on his mind leading up to Friday’s big moment.
Anderson said at the time his last bat flip was just a reaction in the moment, but said with a smile tonight that he was definitely thinking about this one, and he had to let everyone know the last bat flip wasn’t a fluke
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) April 27, 2019
Anderson clearly gives no, well, you know, about what anyone thinks.
Redemption
Chances are Anderson was feeling extra good after saving the White Sox from a potentially embarrassing defeat. His game-winning homer made up for an earlier baserunning blunder that he was directly involved in along with Jose Abreu. That mistake negated a home run and threatened to cost Chicago the game.
In the seventh inning, Abreu smoked a baseball over the fence for a would-be three-run blast. Only it wouldn’t be, because replays showed that Abreu passed Anderson as he rounded first base.
That’s a big no-no. The moment Abreu passed Anderson, his trip around the bases was over.
Per MLB rules, a runner is ruled out when he’s deemed to have passed the runner ahead of him. The other runners — Anderson from first base and Leury Garcia from second base — were allowed to continue around the bases. Abreu was credited with a two-run single because he reached first base safely.
That blunder trimmed the White Sox lead from two to one, and allowed Detroit to tie the game in the eighth inning. Had the White Sox ended up losing, it would have been an embarrassing new low during their rough April.
Fortunately for them, it only set the stage for Anderson’s ninth-inning dramatics.
It was just one of those wild nights at the ballpark. The teams combined for nine home runs even with Abreu’s being negated. When it’s that crazy, there’s no better way to end it than the finish authored by Anderson.
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