Brady Anderson

Brady Kevin Anderson (born January 18, 1964 in Silver Spring, Maryland) was a Major League Baseball player noted for hitting 50 home runs in 1996. He was also noted for his sideburns.

Table of contents

1 Early Career
2 Best Years
3 Accomplishments
4 Teams
5 External Links

Early Career

Brady attended Carlsbad High School in California where he was a star baseball player and won team MVP several times. After graduation, he studied economics at the University of California, Irvine. He played OF and first base for the college team and graduated in 1985.

Brady was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 10th round of the 1985 amateur draft and made his Major League debut on April 4, 1988. A lacklustre spring resulted in a trade to the Baltimore Orioles with Curt Schilling for Mike Boddicker on July 29.

Brady hit poorly in his first several seasons with Baltimore, neither hitting for average nor power.

Best Years

Brady proved himself a capable lead-off man in the 1992 season, scoring 100 runs, hitting 21 homers, and stealing 53 bases, but it was his 1996 season that turned heads. Despite a combined 72 home runs in his first 7 Major League seasons, Brady Anderson went into the final game with 49 home runs and second in the league to super slugger Mark McGwire. Brady hit his 50th home run early in the game off Cy Young winner Pat Hentgen, and in so doing joined a club previous thought reserved for Hall of Fame players and quintessential power hitters. Some felt Brady's accomplishment cheapened the 50 home run plateau -- which had never been reached by such greats as Joe Jackson, Ted Williams or even Hank Aaron -- especially coming from a lead-off hitter. Nonetheless, Brady's 1996 season remains one of the most impressive, and surprising, accomplishments in baseball history.

Brady was unable to duplicate his 1996 results over the next several seasons, eventually bowing out of baseball in 2002. His second highest season home run total was 1999 when he hit 24 -- less than half of his 1996 total.