Former Birmingham Barons infielder Tim Anderson has won both the Major League Baseball (MLB) and the American League batting titles with a .335 batting average for the 2019 season as a member of the Chicago White Sox.

A native of Tuscaloosa, Anderson showed major improvement this season. After hitting .240 in 2018, he raised his average almost 100 points this year.

Anderson joins the likes of baseball legends Willie Mays and Frank “The Big Hurt” Thomas as former Barons to have won a batting title in the major leagues.

The last former Baron to win an American League batting title before Anderson was Magglio Ordonez with the Detroit Tigers in 2007 (.351).

Anderson was drafted 17 overall by the White Sox in the 2013 MLB Draft. After spending his first two seasons in Minor League Baseball with the Kannapolis Intimidators and Winston-Salem Dash, he made his debut for the Barons in late August 2014. He would return to the Barons roster for the 2015 season where he hit .312 while recording 160 hits, 46 RBIs, five home runs, 49 stolen bases and 21 doubles in 125 games.

During the 2015 season, Anderson was selected as one of four members from the Barons squad to represent the Northern Division in the Southern League All-Star game. Listed as the No. 1 prospect for the White Sox at the time, he went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and an RBI. That dominant performance in the 2015 Southern League All-Star Game earned him the game’s “Most Valuable Player” award.

As previously reported by Yellowhammer News, Anderson did not even play baseball until his junior year at Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn