Unable to find a job this spring after hitting just .181 in 80 games for the Dodgers last season, Garret Anderson has decided to call it a career after 17 years in the majors.
Fifteen of those years were spent with the Angels and Anderson is the franchise’s all-time leader in games (2,013), plate appearances (8,480), runs (1,024), RBIs (1,292), hits (2,368), and total bases (3,743).
At his peak he was a .300 hitter with 25-homer power whose spot in the middle of the lineup and low walk rate helped him pile up big RBI totals, knocking in more than 115 runs each year from 2000-2003.
His overall production wasn’t quite as impressive as the batting average and RBIs suggested, as Anderson failed to crack an .800 OPS in 10 seasons and finishes with a career mark of .785 that ranks just 106th among the 158 players to log at least 5,000 plate appearances since his debut in 1994.
He was a very solid hitter and underrated defensive left fielder who rarely missed games and was a big part of some very good Angels teams, including the World Series winners in 2002. That season he batted .306 with a .332 on-base percentage and .539 slugging percentage, homering 29 times and leading the league with 56 doubles while knocking in a career-high 123 runs to finish fourth in the MVP balloting.