Brady Anderson’s name is spoken alongside Cal Ripken Jr. and Mike Mussina when talking about Baltimore Orioles baseball in the 90s, but did you know that the popular lead-off hitter was born in Silver Spring, MD?
Anderson was born at Holy Cross hospital on January 18th, 1964- just over a year after the hospital opened. He soon moved to Southern California with his family, but would make his return to Maryland in a major way when the Orioles acquired him from Red Sox in 1988.
Anderson became a full-time player for the O’s in 1992 and led the majors with 749 plate appearances that year- earning his first of three All-Star game appearances. That same year, he become the first player in American League history to reach 20 home runs, 50 steals and 75 RBIs in a season.
Four years later, Anderson surprised the baseball world when he hit 50 home runs in the 1996 season, breaking the Orioles record for home runs in a season and an MLB record by leading off four consecutive games with a home run. He became the only player in major league history to be in the 50-20 club and the 20-50 clubs (home runs and steals).
Anderson remained with the Orioles until 2001. He went on to play one more season with the Cleveland Indians before ending his career. In 2012, Anderson returned to the O’s as Special Assistant to the Executive Vice-President for Baseball Operations and was promoted to Vice-President of Baseball Operations one year later on February 19, 2013. He left the organization at the end of the 2019 season.