Brady Anderson made a name for himself as the center fielder and lead off hitter for the Baltimore Orioles in the 90s. His sideburns may also be among the most famous to ever exist, but did you know the 3 time All-Star, who once hit 50 home runs in a season, was born in Silver Spring?
Anderson was born at Holy Cross hospital on January 18th, 1964. Though he was born here, he didn’t spend too much time in the area as his family moved to California with his family when he was very young and attended Carlsbad High School before enrolling at the University of California, Irvine prior to being drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1985. The Red Sox sent him — along with Curt Schilling — to the Orioles on July 29, 1988 in exchange for Mike Boddicker. Schilling didn’t stick around for too long, but Anderson went on to establish himself as one of the better center fielders and leadoff hitters of the ’90s.
Anderson had 1661 hits and 210 home runs in his career. His He also has the second most walks in Orioles history with 927 and joined a very elite group of players to hit 50 home runs and steal 20 bases in the same season. He played for the Orioles for 14 seasons prior to finishing his career with Cleveland, where he played in 2002. On August 21, 2004, Anderson was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame. Cal Ripken, Jr. introduced Anderson and called him “the greatest lead-off hitter in Orioles baseball, and the best athlete I have ever played with.” He was with the organization as an executive from 2012 until 2019.
'
