Price: $70.00

Rick Anderson Kansas City Royals Autographed Signed OML Baseball COA 1986 New York Mets

~~THIS ONE IS A BEAUTY!

Great looking single signed baseball by former Kansas City Royals pitcher...Rick Anderson.

Rick began his career in 1986 with the New York Mets.  He played with the Mets 1986 and Kansas City Royals 1987-88.  During his career, he played in 28 games and registered a 4-4 won/loss record with a 4.75 ERA, 1 save and 42 K's in 96.2 innings pitched.  Rick played in 15 games for the eventual 1986 World Champion New York Mets.  Rick signed this OML Allan H. Selig baseball with a blue ballpoint pen.  He signed this baseball on January 15, 2011.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...

Richard Arlen Anderson (born November 29, 1956) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher and the current pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins.

New York Mets

Anderson was drafted in the 24th round of the 1978 Major League Baseball Draft out of the University of Washington by the New York Mets. Anderson would see mediocre results in the minors, finishing with a 60-51 record over parts of 11 minor league seasons, as he possessed only average stuff and stuck out an extremely low average of 3.5 batters per nine innings.[1][2] Despite this, he would be promoted to AAA Tidewater at the end of the 1980 season. However, Anderson would spend the next six season shuttling between AA Jackson and Tidewater, being continually passed up for promotion to the majors while more promising prospects (such as future all-stars Dwight Gooden, Sid Fernandez, Ron Darling, Rick Aguilera, Randy Myers, and Roger McDowell) debuted with the big club.[3] After pleading "All I want is one chance to prove myself" to Mets General Manager Joe McIlvaine prior to the 1986 season,[4] Anderson was given that chance and had his major league debut on June 9th against the Philadelphia Phillies. He pitched seven innings and gave up only one unearned run, but did not figure in the decision.[5] His first win came on August 6, in the second game of a double header against the Chicago Cubs.[6] For the season, Anderson went 2-1 with a 2.72 earned run average and one save in five starts and ten appearances out of the bullpen. Pitching rich in 1986, Anderson was left off the Mets' post-season roster and was only able to celebrate their eventual World Series championship as a spectator on the bench.

Kansas City Royals

On 27 March, 1987, Anderson was included in a trade with the Kansas City Royals, along with Mets backup catcher Ed Hearn and minor league pitcher Mauro Gozzo, which brought future star pitcher David Cone and minor league outfielder Chris Jelic to the Mets. In retrospect, with the all-star career of Cone and the journeyman careers of Anderson, Hearn, and Gozzo, this trade is often listed as one of the most lop-sided in major league history.[7] Anderson would split two seasons between Kansas City and AAA Omaha, going 2-3 with a 6.89 ERA at the major league level, before retiring following the 1988 season.[8]

Coaching career

Always looking at coaching as a fallback once his playing career was over, Anderson accepted a job as pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Twins immediately after retirement.[9] After thirteen seasons as a minor league coach, the last seven at the AAA level, he was named the Minnesota Twins' pitching coach for the 2002 season where he was reunited with former Met, and minor league roommate, rookie Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire. Since 2002, Twins pitchers have posted the third-lowest ERA in the American League, at 4.11. Anderson has followed in the steps of, and some say improved upon, the philosophy of former Twins' manager Tom Kelly and pitching coach Dick Such that the way to give your team a chance to win games is for the staff to pitch to contact, limit walks, and allow their players to field their positions.[10] Consequently, no major league team has been more stingy with free passes. Over the past three years, the Twins have issued 1,255 walks; the St. Louis Cardinals are a distant second on that list, at 1,433.[11]

Personal life

Anderson graduated from Mariner High School in 1975 and attended Everett Community College before graduating from the University of Washington. He and his wife, Rhonda, have two daughters, Cortnie & Ashley, and one son, Ricky.[12]

Lifetime guarantee in regards to this autographed baseball which also comes with a COA from Gearhart Enterprises, Inc. Member of the UACC. UACC Registered Dealer #RD189.