Former White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson announces his retirement after 10 years in the majors

CHICAGO (AP) — Tim Anderson, a two-time All-Star shortstop who won the 2019 AL batting title with the Chicago White Sox, has decided to retire after spending 10 years in the major leagues.

Anderson, 33, made the announcement on Monday.

“I fought for the last two, three years. You know, I trained and I just couldn’t get the body to operate like it used to,” Anderson said. “So I mean, I’m not one of those guys that’s going to just continue to try to get back to somewhere where I just, you know, I couldn’t get it back there.”

Anderson hit .276 with 98 homers, 350 RBIs and 122 steals in 991 games. He played for the White Sox for eight seasons before finishing his career with short stints with Miami and the Los Angeles Angels.

Anderson hasn’t appeared in a major league game since May 25, 2025, with the Angels.

“I want to be open as I can, but the game (brought) a lot of pain, a lot of great moments,” he said. “But just throughout playing, it definitely was a lot of dark moments. … And it just got to the point where I really couldn’t enjoy it. Just being in that setting, it just wasn’t the same.”

Anderson played with a heavy heart after a close friend was shot and killed in Alabama in 2017. During an interview on “The Pivot Podcast” in 2023, Anderson acknowledged having a child out of wedlock and going through therapy with his wife, Bria.

The White Sox said they will honor Anderson before their Sept. 17 game against Detroit. As part of the tribute, the team will wear its Nike City Connect “Southside” uniforms for the only time this season. The black-and-white uniforms with Gothic script and pinstripes were worn by Anderson and the White Sox when they won the AL Central in 2021.

Anderson said he’s in a good spot now.

“I get to wake up and do whatever I want to. And that makes me happy,” he said. “But as far as thinking about baseball, man, it’s just, it’s a lot.”

Anderson was selected by Chicago with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2013 amateur draft. He made his big league debut in 2016 and quickly became one of baseball’s bright young stars.

He hit a major league-best .335 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs in 2019. With the Alabama native sparking the lineup from the leadoff slot, Chicago made the playoffs in 2020 and 2021. But the team was never able to deliver on its potential.

Hampered by a sprained left knee and right shoulder soreness, Anderson hit .245 with one homer and 25 RBIs in 123 games with the White Sox in 2023. He also was suspended by Major League Baseball after he got into a fight with Cleveland slugger José Ramírez.

After Chicago finished with a 61-101 record in his final year with the team, Anderson had a $14 million option that was declined by the organization.

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