Our season report card series continues. In this edition, we’ll be looking at pitcher Brett Anderson and how he performed during the 2021 season.
2021 was Anderson’s second season in Milwaukee. He returned in February 2021 after agreeing to a 1-year, 2.5 million-dollar deal. The Brewers’ pitching staff was stacked this season, with a Big Three of starters Cy Young Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta and closing powerhouse duo Devin Williams and Josh Hader. However, the big names weren’t the only pitchers to deliver this season and Anderson was no exception.
2021 Season Grade: B-
Photo Credit: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
Performance on the Mound
Anderson earned a 4.22 ERA across 96 innings pitched. This brought his career ERA to 4.07 across a total of 1140.1 innings in 13 seasons. This season, Anderson both started and pitched middle innings as needed. Throughout the season, Anderson battled a number of injuries and spent time on the 10-day injured list and in the minor leagues.
While it wasn’t always pretty, Anderson typically got the job done, save a couple of painful starts. He seemed to find his groove later in the season after returning from his September 2 shoulder injury and finished out the season strong. The stats don’t tell the whole story for this 4-9 pitcher. A common theme for the pitcher this year was finding himself with multiple men on base and no outs. Anderson developed a knack for working his way out of tricky situations, albeit those he got himself into.
Off the Mound
Additionally, Anderson was a key to the Brewers team dynamic this season as well. He served as an experienced voice and mentor to some of the younger players, particularly rookie pitcher Aaron Ashby.
Amidst the plethora of talented pitching in Milwaukee this season, Anderson emerged as a fan favorite. His season-end farewell to the Crew received 6.4k likes and a flood of comments from fans and teammates.
Anderson’s social media, namely Twitter, deserve a grade of their own: A+. Bonus points for some of the sickest burns on MLB Twitter.
Currently, Brett Anderson is a free agent. His future is unknown, though it’s doubtful he’ll return to Milwaukee. This is due to the number of pitchers returning and highly anticipated prospects expected to make their MLB debuts this season. What is certain is that Anderson had an impact in his two seasons here and will be missed in Milwaukee.
Other 2021 Report Cards
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