The Baltimore Orioles of the mid to late 1990s were one of the most interesting baseball teams. Everything from the realistic bird on their hat to Cal Ripken Jr. refusing to take a day off after passing Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played record made them intriguing. There are lots of things you may not remember about the team and its players like Brady Anderson.
Good ol’ Brady Anderson, the leadoff hitter who mysteriously hit 50 home runs in 1996. It’s probably a bit unfair to single him out. Every MLB player was swatting dingers for fun that season. Of course, sharing a locker room with Rafael Palmeiro at Camden Yards certainly didn’t do the outfielder any favors in the public relations department.
But there is a lot more to his story than being a suspected steroid user. And by the way, there is literally no supporting evidence for that whatsoever. With that in mind, let’s explore a few things you don’t remember about Brady Anderson.
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Things you may not remember about Brady Anderson
The first launch-angle guy?
These days hitters are obsessed on their launch angle. It is one of the reasons why home run numbers continue to soar. Brady Anderson may have been ahead of the curve on this before his 50-homer season in 1996. Orioles Manager Davey Johnson told Buster Olney the following in an interview with The Baltimore Sun (courtesy of Beyond The Box Score).
“I don’t want him to swing any easier. I want him to drive the ball, but not lift the ball… I’ve seen him drive the ball the other way, which won’t happen if you’re trying to lift. I think he’s in agreement his swing gets a little too big at times.”
What if Brady Anderson wasn’t juiced but simply the first launch-angle guy? That also aligns with the next thing you may not remember about Brady Anderson.
Definitely one of the first body guys
Brady Anderson was jacked. Dude was basically a walking GNC ad in his prime. But don’t take our word for it. These photos say more than we ever could.
1992 was just as good as 1996
Everyone focuses on Brady Anderson’s 1996 campaign, but he had a helluva of year in 1992, making his first All-Star Game appearance and finishing 14th in AL MVP voting. He hit 21 home runs and stole 53 bases. His case was hurt by the fact teammate Mike Devereaux finished 7th in voting putting up slightly better numbers including knocking in 27 more RBIs.
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Robbing the K-Pop cradle
File this under good for him. Anderson is dating a K-Pop singer who is 23-years younger than him. It’s hard to say if Stephanie is particularly popular but the relationship did make news in South Korea. Just don’t say the couple is married.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch Guest Spot
Holy shit. This is one of those things you totally forget happened until someone brings it up and it all comes rushing back. Basically, Sabrina gets a wart, and her annoying aunts summon a Baltimore Orioles hat. She wears this to school covering the wart, but it is stolen by her rival. Eventually Brady Anderson shows up to give Sabrina a pep talk she’s not really interest in. The cat makes a bunch of one-liners and there’s your episode.
