Chicago White Sox Draft and minor leagues The
Chicago White Sox selected Anderson in the first round, with the 17th overall selection, in the
2013 MLB draft. Anderson opted to sign with the White Sox, rather than enroll at UAB, for a
signing bonus of $2,164,000. Though expected to make his professional debut with the
Bristol White Sox of the
Rookie-level Appalachian League, the White Sox assigned Anderson to the
Kannapolis Intimidators of the
Single–A South Atlantic League instead, a higher level than rookie ball. He batted .277 with one home run, 21 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases in 68 games for Kannapolis. In 2014, Anderson began the season with the
Winston-Salem Dash of the
High–A Carolina League. He broke his wrist in late June, requiring surgery. In 68 games, Anderson had a .297 batting average, six home runs, and 10 stolen bases. He also committed 31
errors. When he returned in August, the White Sox promoted him to the
Birmingham Barons of the
Double–A Southern League, where he batted .364 in 10 games. The White Sox invited Anderson to
spring training in 2015. He spent the season with Birmingham, batting .312 with five home runs and 49 stolen bases, while also committing 25 errors. Invited to spring training again in 2016, the White Sox assigned him to the
Charlotte Knights of the
Triple–A International League at the beginning of the season. In 55 games for Charlotte, Anderson batted .304 with four home runs, 20 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases. Anderson made his MLB debut that day, hitting a
double off of
Ian Kennedy of the
Kansas City Royals in his first
at bat. In the 2016 season, Anderson batted .283 with nine home runs in 99 games for the White Sox. Before the 2017 season, Anderson signed a six-year contract worth $25 million, with club options for both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He struggled in April 2017, batting .204 and
striking out 24 times in 22 games. On defense, he led the major leagues in errors, with 28, and in fielding errors (with 16) and throwing errors (with 12). In 2018, Anderson had a .240 batting average with 20 home runs and 26 stolen bases. On defense, he tied for the major league lead in throwing errors, with 12. In 2019, Anderson batted .335 (leading the major leagues)/.357/.508. He had the lowest walk percentage in the American League (2.9%). He had career highs in hits with 167, despite having 88 fewer plate appearances than in 2018. He also had a career high in doubles with 32, and runs with 81. On defense, he led all major league players in errors committed, with 26, and had the lowest
fielding percentage of all major league shortstops (.951). On April 17, 2019, Anderson was ejected after a bench-clearing incident in a game against the
Kansas City Royals. After Anderson's fourth inning
bat flip following a home run, he was hit by a pitch from Royals pitcher
Brad Keller in his next at bat, causing both benches to clear. Two days later, Anderson was suspended one game by Major League Baseball for the use of a racial slur; ESPN's
Jeff Passan reported that Anderson called Keller a "weak-ass f—ing
n-word." Keller received a five game suspension.
2020–22 Overall with the
2020 Chicago White Sox, in the Covid-shortened season, Anderson batted .322/.357/.529 with 45 runs (tied for the AL lead), ten home runs, and 21 RBIs in 49 games. He won a
Silver Slugger Award that season. Anderson was the cover athlete for the 2021 installment of the
R.B.I. Baseball video game series. On July 10, 2021, Anderson was named to the
2021 MLB All-Star Game as a replacement for
Carlos Correa, who had decided not to attend. At the
MLB Field of Dreams Game on August 12, 2021, Anderson hit a
walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off of
Zack Britton to win the game for the White Sox over the
New York Yankees, 9–8. Overall in 2021, Anderson batted .309/.338/.469 in 123 games, with 17 home runs and 61 RBIs. He had the lowest walk percentage in the major leagues, at 4.0%. During the White Sox game against the
Cleveland Guardians on April 20, 2022, Anderson made three errors in the first two innings, then gave
the finger to a fan who made a comment to him. Anderson apologized after the game. MLB suspended him for one game, but Anderson successfully appealed the suspension, which was replaced by a fine. During a game against the
New York Yankees on May 21, 2022, Yankees third baseman
Josh Donaldson mockingly called Anderson "Jackie", Later in the game, White Sox catcher
Yasmani Grandal confronted Donaldson, leading to both teams clearing their benches. After the game, manager
Tony La Russa called Donaldson's comment "racist" and Anderson agreed with him. Donaldson was suspended one game for "inappropriate comments" and apologized to both Anderson and
Rachel Robinson, Robinson's widow. Anderson made the All-Star team for the second year in a row. Anderson was named the starter at shortstop for the American League, becoming the first White Sox shortstop to start in the All-Star game since
Luis Aparicio in 1970. In the game, Anderson went 1-for-2, with a single in the 4th. On July 30, 2022, Anderson was thrown out of the game by umpire Nick Mahrley after arguing balls and strikes. Anderson became irate and seemingly bumped the umpire's cap with his own helmet. MLB suspended Anderson for three games and fined him an undisclosed amount for making illegal contact with an umpire. The suspension was reduced from three games to two on appeal. On August 9, Anderson was placed on the IL with a torn hand ligament, ending his season. Overall in 2022, Anderson appeared in just 79 games, albeit with a .301 batting average, as well as six home runs and 25 RBIs.
2023 In 2023, Anderson represented
Team USA in the
World Baseball Classic. In Team USA's third game of pool play against Canada, Anderson played at second base, the first time he had played the position in his professional career. Anderson missed playing time in April due to a knee injury. He struggled in the first half of the season as he batted .223 by the All-Star break. Anderson also went homerless until on July 29 against the Cleveland Guardians when he hit his first home run of the season and his first homer in 379 days off of
Logan Allen. On August 5, Anderson instigated a
bench-clearing brawl with
José Ramírez of the Cleveland Guardians after Anderson applied a tag to Ramírez during a game. They exchanged punches, with Ramirez knocking Anderson down to the ground. After the game, Ramírez said that Anderson had been "disrespecting the game for a while now". Anderson was ejected from the game and suspended for six games, Ramirez for three. On September 3, Anderson notched his 1,000th career hit with a lead off double off of
Detroit Tigers starter
Tarik Skubal. In 2023, Anderson had the lowest isolated power in the AL (.051) and hit the highest percentage of ground balls in the league (61.1%), while batting .245/.286/.296 (the lowest slugging percentage in the AL), with an OPS of .582 (the lowest in the AL). On November 4, the White Sox declined their $14 million option on Anderson for the 2024 season, instead paying him a $1 million buyout, making him a free agent.
Miami Marlins On February 24, 2024, Anderson signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the
Miami Marlins. In 65 games for the Marlins, he batted .214/.237/.226 with no home runs, nine RBI, and four stolen bases. On July 2, Anderson was
designated for assignment by Miami. He was released by the organization on July 5.
Los Angeles Angels On February 4, 2025, Anderson finalized a minor league contract with the
Los Angeles Angels. On March 25, the Angels selected Anderson's contract, putting him on the Opening Day roster. In 31 appearances, he batted .205/.258/.241 with three RBI and one stolen base. On May 28, Anderson was designated for assignment by the Angels. He was released by the team on May 30. ==Personal life==