Healthy again, Anderson looking to bring positive vibes back to White Sox

Tim Anderson had a lot of free time on his hands at the end of last season.

Recovering from a finger injury that sidelined him for the final two months, the White Sox's star shortstop was obviously watching the NBC Sports Chicago postgame show generally hosted by Ozzie Guillen and Chuck Garfien.

As the Sox chugged to an 81-81 finish and missed the playoffs, Guillen and Garfien frequently ripped into the team.

In an interview with Garfien in the early days of training camp this spring, Anderson had some interesting observations on the criticism.

"I think we should all be pulling from the same string and not tearing each other down and not tearing players down, or we're going to tear you down," Anderson said. "So I think it's just one of those things where we've got to support each other. We support you. We make ourselves available to you when you want to talk to us.

"So it was kind of one of those things that we've all got to be on a positive string and pull from the same string. And I think we can be better as a whole."

Anderson's observations likely came from two frustrations.

First, he was never able to make it back to the White Sox's lineup after tearing a tendon in his left middle finger during an Aug. 6 game at Texas.

Second, the Sox tried making a late run at first-place Cleveland and came up short.

Fully healthy this spring, Anderson is looking to get back to sparking the White Sox out of the leadoff spot. The 29-year-old infielder was the American League batting champion in 2019 with a .335 average and he finished second the following season at .322.

"He's a magician with the bat," manager Pedro Grifol said. "He can win multiple batting titles."

While also dealing with a groin injury last year, Anderson hit .301 while playing in only 79 games.

"I'm in a better place," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. "Definitely, for sure. Every year it gets better. You play, go home and work on yourself and come back and play again. Not just in games but in life, too. I feel good. I'm ready to go. Just play."

And while he would like the media - and fans as well - to pull from the same positive string, Anderson does understand the negative vibe that hovered over the Sox for much of last season.

"We were terrible last year, we get it," he said. "We get it. It was bad. We didn't make the playoffs. All of that. But now it's like, how can we create a new script and not an old script? Because the old will ruin the new."

A healthy Anderson is good for 125-150 games at shortstop.

When he needs a break, Romy Gonzalez and Leury Garcia are the White Sox's two backup options.

No. 1 prospect Colson Montgomery is in major-league camp this spring, but the 21-year-old shortstop is likely to spend most of the upcoming season at Class AA Birmingham.

Last year, Montgomery hit a combined .274/.381/.429 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI in 96 games with Birmingham, high Class A Winston-Salem and low A Kannapolis.

The highlight of his first full professional season was reaching base safely in 50 straight games.

"I really didn't know what to expect or how the season was going to go because it was my first full season," Montgomery said. "I really didn't know how long it was and how many things happen. I just set my mind to one goal and that was to do my best at where I was at because I didn't want to worry about getting moved up or anything like that and putting a little too much pressure on myself."