Tim Anderson took his time before going through infield or batting practice prior to Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Coors Field.
The shortstop certainly was ready to work, just as he is every single day as the heart and soul of the American League Central-leading White Sox. But Anderson really went out of his way to take in his first All-Star appearance.
“It’s dope. Just really soaking it in. Trying to enjoy the moment,” Anderson told the media before the game. “I definitely want to enjoy it, but once the game is on, it’s on.”
Anderson was part of the American League’s 5-2 victory, entering in the bottom of the eighth but not getting an opportunity to hit. AL manager Kevin Cash said postgame he was “sick to my stomach” for leaving Anderson on-deck in the ninth without an at-bat, and while Anderson enjoyed the experience representing his family, the White Sox and the South Side of Chicago, he would have liked to hit.
“Yeah for sure, but it’s all good, Kevin, I’ll see him in Tampa so I’ll take it out on him then,” said Anderson with a laugh after the victory, referring to a series starting on Aug. 20.
Starting pitchers Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodón and closer Liam Hendriks also were part of the White Sox contingency in Denver, although Rodón did not appear in the game.
Hendriks earned the save with a scoreless ninth in his second All-Star appearance, calling it “a dream come true” as his fiery presence and colorful closing vocabulary was mic’d up by FOX for the final inning. Lynn, who made his second All-Star team -- but his first All-Star Game appearance -- struck out J.T. Realmuto during a scoreless second and walked Jesse Winker on a 3-2 pitch.
“Walk is fine. I was trying to strike him out. I had to get at least one,” Lynn told the media after his appearance. “Yeah, you don’t want to give up hits. I’m not going to give up a hit or a run. That’s for sure.”
“I’m just happy to be pitching. I didn’t want to come to a game like this and not pitch,” the entertaining Hendriks said. “The fact I was able to throw the ninth and have a relatively eventful ninth kind of plays into my personality a little bit. Not realizing the mic was hot, and I couldn’t hear them, but they could hear me, was a lot of fun. … But I had fun out there, that’s the biggest thing. It makes for some interesting TV. Hopefully the bleeping guy was on point.”
Winning is certainly not a foreign concept to the White Sox. They've followed up a postseason appearance during the 60-game 2020 campaign with a 54-35 first half in the ’21 season -- and lead Cleveland by eight games in the AL Central.
After a two-day break, the White Sox renew their focus on finishing this season as they push for the organization’s first World Series title since 2005.
“If everything goes well, we are going to have full steam ahead in the second half,” Lynn said. “That’s what it’s all about. When you have an opportunity to make the playoffs and make a run at things, that's why we play. The older you get in this game, the more you cherish those opportunities.”
Reinforcements are coming soon for the White Sox. Left fielder Eloy Jiménez, who had surgery to repair a ruptured left pectoral tendon sustained in the last week of Spring Training, finished 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout in his first rehab game with Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday after getting three hits in two rehab games for High-A Winston-Salem.
Center fielder Luis Robert (right flexor tear) is not far behind Jiménez in his rehab, which is currently taking place in Arizona. General manager Rick Hahn and executive vice president Ken Williams also are looking to add to the roster with the Trade Deadline approaching, potentially focusing on the bullpen and second base, where starter Nick Madrigal is done for the season after suffering a right hamstring tear.
“You always pay attention to what all teams do, really, to see who's making a push or who's selling, seeing what might be out there,” Lynn said. “Our team's a pretty solid team, but if he adds on to it, it would be great. But we know we've got the talent to make a run.”
“We want it [the World Series],” Rodón said. “We've had some key injuries, and we haven't really batted an eye. We've kept going. That's what good teams do. That's what championship clubs do. Hopefully all the pieces fall together and eventually we get our key pieces back here in a couple months, so I think that's gonna help us a lot.”
These past three days served as a small representation of this great 2021 White Sox team, but it also was about individual accolades. Rodón and Lynn are two of the AL Cy Young favorites, Hendriks is one of the best closers in the game and Anderson has made himself into one of the game’s top shortstops.
“It’s an honor to be a part of what they were able to achieve this year,” Lynn said. “Whenever you get on the field with All-Stars and some of the best in the game. … When you are on a team like this and part of something like this, it’s always fun.”
"We have four [All-Stars] here now, it could quite easily have been seven,” Hendriks said. “We had a bunch of guys that were having really, really good years, but, unfortunately, weren't able to get the call. But we have four of us here and it's been huge.”