Just like White Sox, Anderson 'couldn't quite get there'
The stage was set for Tim Anderson to make another big splash.
The White Sox's best all-around player was going to return from finger surgery at just the right time and will his teammates to the playoffs.
After tearing a tendon in his left middle finger on a checked swing during an Aug. 6 game at Texas and having surgery, Anderson worked hard to make it back to the Sox.
He was hoping to come off the injured list and play in a critical three-game series against first-place Cleveland in late September.
Anderson never returned, the White Sox were swept by the Guardians and they wound up missing the postseason.
"We tried," Anderson said. "I kept working, tried to get in the best position to get back healthy to get back. Just couldn't quite get there."
Looking back, that was the story of the Sox's season.
A near-consensus pick to make the playoffs for the third straight year, they just couldn't quite make it happen.
"So up and down," Anderson said. "Never could find that hot streak. Hopefully we could carry it on, but we just couldn't, just couldn't find it. But for the most part, we understand what happened. We've got to come back and be better and continue to keep working."
Injuries happened, lots of them.
Anderson missed the final two months with the bad finger and he was also sidelined for three weeks in June with a strained groin.
Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert and Yasmani Grandal were three more key players that couldn't stay healthy.
It's going to be a busy offseason for Rick Hahn. Hiring a new manager is first on the White Sox general manager's to-do list, followed by roster decisions.
Don't expect a major overhaul.
"It's easy at the end of a disappointing season to say you've got to burn it to the ground, Hahn said. "I think that's not where we're at as an organization. There's a good amount of talent there. There's talent that's performed at an elite level. We've got to figure out a way to get them back to that level and augment accordingly."
In addition to sparking the Sox's offense out of the leadoff spot, Anderson's has elite talent as a high energy leader.
The White Sox really missed his bat and the vocal boost.
"It was definitely different, not being able to be 100 percent," Anderson said. "Just being up and down, battling through injuries, definitely not a place you want to be at."
Anderson hit over .300 for the fourth straight season (.301), but he played in only 79 games and was limited to 6 home runs, 25 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
The 29-year-old shortstop will have a lot to prove next year, as will the Sox.
"Just starting with we didn't make the playoffs, so that should be enough," Anderson said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure you watched the season. There's definitely some motivation there, for sure."