CHICAGO — Tim Anderson stepped to the plate, representing the game-winning run for the Chicago White Sox nearly five years ago in Dyersville, Iowa.
With a large national audience tuning in, the shortstop delivered a signature moment of his career by blasting a two-run homer into the cornfields beyond the right-field wall to give the Sox a 9-8 victory over the New York Yankees in the inaugural Field of Dreams game on Aug. 12, 2021.
"Just as I round second, I see the team, everybody is just going crazy," Anderson said on Monday. "I look up in the stands and everybody is just going crazy. You hear the fireworks. Just a moment of happiness. We were really happy in that moment. That moment made everyone happy."
Anderson, the spark for White Sox teams that reached the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, announced his retirement during an emotional videoconference call Monday afternoon.
"The game brought a lot of good moments, but also brought a lot of pain. It gives me anxiety just stepping into talking about baseball," Anderson said. "I'm sweating now. I want to be as open as I can. A lot of great moments. But throughout playing, it definitely was a lot of dark moments. I lost a lot of people. It got to the point where I really couldn't enjoy being in that setting. It just wasn't the same.
"Even as I sit here and try to have an open conversation to be more calm and comfortable to talk about baseball, it's not really there no more. I still love the game, but it's just brought too much pain to me. So going back to play is probably not for me right now. That's where I'm at right now."
Anderson was at the forefront of the "change the game" era for the franchise, winning a batting title in 2019 with a .335 average and earning two All-Star selections (2021-22). He was voted a starter at shortstop for the 2022 All-Star Game.
"Definitely were great moments," Anderson said. "But just overall, the anxiety is just something I would rather not step into. I fought to try to get back. I fought for the last two, three years. I trained. I just couldn't get the body to operate like it used to. So, I'm not one of those guys that's going to continue to try to get back to somewhere where I couldn't get it back there. Overall, I'm happy. I'm happy in real life, happy in the real world.
"I get to enjoy my kids. I get to wake up and do whatever I want to. That makes me happy. As far as thinking about baseball, it's a lot of moments. A lot of cool moments, but for me overall it brought a lot of pain, a lot of anxiety, as you can see as we are talking right now. Why do that to myself? I don't have to."
The Sox will honor Anderson, 33, before their Sept. 17 game against the Detroit Tigers at Rate Field, where he is scheduled to throw out the first pitch. And the team will be wearing the "Southside" city connect uniform popularized during Anderson's time.
The Sox selected Anderson in the first round of the 2013 draft. He played in 991 career games over 10 seasons with the Sox (2016-23), Miami Marlins (2024) and Los Angeles Angels (2025), hitting .276 with 98 home runs, 350 RBIs, 122 stolen bases and 552 runs.
During his eight seasons with the Sox, Anderson slashed .282/.312/.422 with 179 doubles, 18 triples, 98 home runs, 338 RBIs, 528 runs and 117 stolen bases over 895 games.
"I'm getting emotional now because we're talking about something that I worked my whole life to get there," he said. "I never knew the route, which turn, I never had no guidance. I kept going. As you know, that was my saying, just keep going. I know I came to the ballpark every day ready to compete, just ready to play for the logo that's on the front of that jersey, and that's what I did. Nobody knows what I sacrificed and what the body felt every day.
"I still kept going and I had my moments to where it bothered me. But I couldn't show it, and it got to a point where it started showing out loud and I couldn't control it. I'm kind of happier waking up and being able to be around my kids and really living a real life. Because life is bigger than trying to make people happier with a bat and a ball, you know what I mean? Now I get to step outside of that and see what life is and really enjoying it."
Anderson continued: "I'm definitely happy for my moments. But I get sad talking about it because this is the first team that gave me my opportunity. They took the chance on me. I didn't have a crazy resume; I didn't play all the crazy little camps and stuff. So they gave me a shot and they stuck by my side, so I think it's only right that I get to come back, come back and retire as a White Sox for sure."
From bat flips to leadoff homers to the walk-offs, Anderson said, "bringing back cool moments to the South Side definitely was fun."
That includes the Field of Dreams game, which is nearing its fifth anniversary.
"I think everyone in the baseball world was happy, it don't matter which team you was really going for — well, I mean, besides if you were for the Yankees," Anderson said. "But just being in that moment, definitely it struck the baseball community. I think the ultimate goal is to be happy, and that was a really happy moment."
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