Adam Eaton was with the White Sox when Tim Anderson reached the major leagues in 2016.
He saw him. He played with him. But he did not hear much from him.
Fast forward nearly five years, and the trial of Eaton of Anderson and many more.
“I was with him all day,” Eaton said of Anderson about the first day of training at Camelback Ranch. “I heard him talk more in the two and a half hours we were outside than I had the month or two I had in ’16.”
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Eaton is back at the White Sox after four seasons at the Washington Nationals. The White Sox gave him away after the 2016 season to begin their rebuilding project, and Eaton won a 2019 World Series with the Nationals.
A lot has changed since Eaton left after the infamous malfunctioning 2016 campaign. Among the more notable changes, however, must be Anderson’s evolution from a typically shy rookie to the face of the franchise and one of the faces of the game of baseball, in general.
“It’s great,” Eaton said. “To see TA in ’16 … he was really quiet then and was just trying to find his own. And now he’s a premier shortstop. He’s an incredible player, incredible guy. And then to have conversations with him. can feed if he’s a little more open and front than he was as a rookie, it’s very cool to see him and his personality.
‘To see him from the other side, just to see how he progressed as a ball player, it’s really impressive how he matured at the shortstop position as well as with the bat. So I can not wait to be in this team and be able to see it every day. ‘
In 2016, Eaton was part of the veteran group at the White Sox Clubhouse, one of the guys who caught the evening’s attention in the media.
Now, however, it’s Anderson who delivers daily media conferences, part of the leadership team for a White Sox team watching a World Series in 2021, as the Eaton’s Nationals did two years ago.
Five years ago, Eaton was described as a spark plug for the White Sox series. Now Anderson is riding the bus as an MVP candidate.
“When I decided to come back, yes, he was definitely thinking of me,” Eaton said. “I think he is the face of the organization. If this is not one of the top three faces, I do not want to argue with anyone else. But he really makes the team, so to speak, turn in the clubhouse and on the field the short stop.
“With the defined shortstop voice in the clubhouse, vote in the city of Chicago. You want the solidity to the ball club.”
Anyone who has followed Anderson’s evolution over the course of his major league career knows that his personal growth was just as important as his growth on the field. From .240 hit to batting champion is one thing. From silent child to outspoken advocate is another.
The White Sox benefit from both aspects, which Eaton quickly realizes.
Of course, Anderson, in one of his faintly funny moods during his first media session of Spring Monday, need not be reminded of everything that has left Eaton since.
And he also does not think that Eaton or anyone else needs to be.
“I know he watched,” he said. “Everyone was watching.”
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