Adam Eaton was with the White Sox when Tim Anderson reached the major leagues in 2016.
He saw it. He played with him. But he didn’t hear much from him.
Moving forward almost five years, Eaton hearing a lot more about Anderson.
“I was with him all day,” said Eaton of Anderson on the first day of full team training at Camelback Ranch. “I heard him speak more in the two and a half hours we spent than in the month or two months that I was with him at 16.”
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Eaton is back at the White Sox after four seasons at Washington Nationals. The White Sox negotiated it after the 2016 season to help start their reconstruction project, and Eaton won a World Series ring with the Nationals in 2019.
A lot has changed since Eaton left after the infamous and dysfunctional 2016 campaign. Among the most noticeable changes, however, should be Anderson’s evolution from a typically shy newcomer to the face of the franchise and one of the faces of the baseball game. , in general.
“It’s incredible,” said Eaton. “To see TA in ’16 … he was really quiet and was just trying to find his own. And now he’s the first shortstop. He’s an incredible player, an incredible guy. And then to be able to talk to him when he’s a little more open and open than when he was a newbie, it’s really cool to see him and his personality.
“To see him on the other side, just to see how he progressed as a player, it’s really impressive how he matured in the shortstop position, as well as in the club. So, I can’t wait to be on this team and be able to see it every day. “
In 2016, Eaton was part of the group of veterans at the White Sox club, one of the guys who drew media attention every night.
Now, however, it is Anderson who gives daily briefings to the media, a part of the leadership group of a White Sox team that plans to compete in the World Series in 2021 like the one Eaton’s Nationals did two years ago.
Five years ago, Eaton was described as a spark plug for the White Sox line. Now it’s Anderson driving the bus as a candidate for MVP.
“When deciding to come back, yes, it definitely comes to mind,” said Eaton. “I think he is the face of the organization, if not one of the first three guys, I don’t want to belittle anyone. But it really makes the team turn, so to speak, in the club and on the field, being the shortstop.
“Having that shortstop voice set at the clubhouse, voice in the city of Chicago. You want that sturdiness for the dance club.”
Anyone who has followed Anderson’s evolution throughout his major league career knows that his personal growth has been as significant as his growth in the field. From 0.240 hitter to hitting champion is one thing. From quiet child to outspoken advocate is another.
The White Sox benefits from both aspects, which Eaton soon noticed.
Of course, Anderson, in one of his arrogant playful moods during his first media session on spring Monday, need not be reminded of everything that has happened since Eaton left.
And he doesn’t think Eaton – or anyone else – needs to be, either.
“I know he’s watching,” he said. “Everyone is watching.”
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