src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>

If you just tuned in to the White Sox for the first time in three weeks, you’d have no idea Tim Anderson missed any time at all. After sitting out the last 19 games with a groin injury, Anderson picked up exactly where he left off at the plate by belting two singles in his return to MLB action. He didn’t show any rust in the field either, making one putout and one assist.

After the game, Anderson said he felt great, and that he’d done his homework on José Berríos, so he was ready to rock.

“I kind of knew what he was going to do to me,” Anderson said. “I was ready to attack.”

In the locker room, Anderson’s teammates felt the boost from his presence, too.

“He’s a sparkplug of all sparkplugs,” said Andrew Vaughn. “The man can flat out hit, gets on base dang near all the time. It’s huge.”

After the game, Anderson’s batting average rose to a lofty .357. If Anderson had enough plate appearances to qualify for the league’s leaderboards, that would trail only Luis Arraez of the Twins this season. Anderson already has one MLB batting title, from his .335 campaign in 2019, and two other top-10 finishes in 2020 and 2021. Pair that consistency at the plate with his ability to make rangy plays on defense, and Tony La Russa believes Anderson should be considered one of the best in the game.

“His stroke is a thing of a beauty,” La Russa said. “I mean he can get to anything. He knows his stroke, and he stays within himself… He’s as good as anybody playing the position. Anybody. You pick the best, Tim Anderson is as good as there. That’s respect to the several great ones around, but they’re not any better than Tim Anderson.”

“I was seeing the ball real well,” Anderson said. “If I just stay right there where I’m at, just continue to keep pushing, I’ll be in a good spot.”

Click here to follow the White Sox Talk Podcast.