The book on Matt Anderson

Sporting News, The, July 30, 2001

Enough about the fastball already. Put it out of your mind.

Sure, it's good. The type of pitch you hear but don't see. The thing's built for the Autobahn. Been clocked at 102 mph more than once and has no trouble cracking triple digits.

But who cares? That just means it's going to travel farther when it's hit. And it will be hit, after all, because this is the major leagues.

If you really know what makes Tigers closer Matt Anderson successful, you know about something else. Like the slider that drives hitters crazy. Or the near pinpoint control that he has displayed in converting 11 of his 12 save opportunities.

Those weapons--and the results--are new. Anderson always has had the fastball. He had it when the Tigers made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 draft and promptly tabbed him a future closer.

He had it when he made hitters look silly in brief stops at Class A and Class AA and when he made his major league debut in 1998, only to spend his days in middle relief purgatory.

A lot of good the fastball did him then. Anderson, who will turn 25 next month, posted a 4.55 ERA in his first three seasons and was so inconsistent in 1999 the team sent him to Class AAA. That's what happens to pitchers who try to overpower everyone.

So no, it's not the fastball that explains why Anderson has been mowing down hitters since April 17, when he blew his first save attempt. It's all the other stuff--tips on how to finish games he picked up from teammate and former closer Todd Jones and the newfound fire he has had since June when he took over as closer.

"Sometimes when you're in a role you don't want to be in, you're not as motivated," Anderson says. "I've wanted to pitch the last out of the game my whole life, and that's all I want to do."

That's exactly what Anderson is doing now. He has the fastball working. And everything else. He's turning out to be just what the Tigers had in mind.--Steve Walentik