Chase Anderson adjusting to life in the majors
Jun 6, 2014, 12:28 AM | Updated: 1:09 am
Many young boys across the country share the dream of one day becoming a major league baseball player. New Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Chase Anderson is now one of the few who have been able to make that dream a reality.
“I’m just trying to enjoy this process,” Anderson told Bickley and Marotta Thursday afternoon on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “It’s just such a blessing to be in the major leagues and it’s the dream I’ve had since I was a little kid.”
As is the case with most kids, Anderson grew up idolizing certain players, naming White Sox Adam Dunn and Alexei Ramirez as veterans he was excited to face.
“You see the big leaguers, you’ve watched these guys on TV since you were a teenager or a younger kid,” Anderson said. “It’s a surreal feeling and if you get them out it’s like ‘wow, I just got this guy out.'”
The right-hander has gotten a lot of guys out on his way to winning his first four games as a D-back, the first pitcher to accomplish the feat in the history of the franchise. The 26-year-old gave up four hits, one earned run and struck out three in six innings of work against the Rockies in his most recent start Tuesday night. Although Anderson may be on Cloud Nine right now, he admitted that pitching in the major leagues has required some tweaks to his game.
“The biggest adjustments pitching during a game are just locating your pitches better,” Anderson said. “The guys up here, they don’t miss mistakes like they do in the minor leagues as much.”
Anderson has also been working on his mental approach, which according to him has led to more success.
“It’s not trying to put too much pressure on yourself each time you go out there,” Anderson said. “You have to go out there and you have to think, ‘OK I got to pitch the same game so you go out there and do the best you can and I try to do that.'”
