AL DIVISION SERIES: ASTROS VS WHITE SOX

October 6, 2021

Tim Anderson

Minute Maid Park

Chicago White Sox

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Tim, Tony was talking about relief, kind of hearing about the update on Jose. How do you guys feel in the clubhouse that it's not worse maybe than it might have been, and obviously what he means to this team.

TIM ANDERSON: He definitely means a lot to this ball club. I think he's the biggest key that we need healthy. But I'm sure you know, we all know how stubborn he is, and you know he's not going to want to sit out. He's not going to be happy about that. So that's a positive.

But overall, I just can't wait for him to get here and be able to compete with us. He plays a huge role. He's been here. So I think it's only right that we get him back.

Q. Congratulations. Best of luck this round. When you guys run the table basically the entire year in the division, a criticism is that you haven't played any hard games because you guys made it look so easy. What's your response to that, that you haven't been challenged this year because it was almost wire to wire?

TIM ANDERSON: Everybody's going to have opinions. Everybody's going to talk. Everybody's going to say we haven't played a good team, but it's baseball. You show up any given day, and any team could beat any team.

I don't really say much about it, just really go out and compete and see what happens.

Q. I wonder, how much do you enjoy this time of year being on the biggest stage and having everyone watching?

TIM ANDERSON: These are the moments you want to be in. This is what you play for. You've got to cherish these moments and enjoy them and have fun with it. At the end of the day, it's just a game. But you're competing at one of the highest levels, and it doesn't get more exciting than that, going out and competing at the highest level where everybody's tuned in.

But overall you just have fun, and I think the rest will take care of itself.

Q. When you were on the IL, people talked a lot about missing kind of the energy you provide. When Jose is not there, what presence is kind of missing that he provides on a daily basis?

TIM ANDERSON: Another part of the leadership as well, and also a huge bat in our lineup. He brings it every day. He competes every day. He wants to be out there every day, and he's just one of those guys that I watched since I got to the Big Leagues just to see how he competes and see how he works behind the scenes where people aren't looking, and it shows in his game.

So he's just a huge example for younger guys coming up and a huge role in this ball club.

Q. Tim, you've only won two of seven games against the Astros this year, but you were without Luis Robert and

Eloy Jimenez in both of those series. What has their return meant to your club?

TIM ANDERSON: It meant a lot. At this point in our record against them guys don't really mean nothing because it's straight ahead now and the record's 0-0. So we just see what happens. To be able to get Luis Robert back and Eloy back in the lineup, it definitely says a lot about our lineup. Those guys are going to be ready to compete for sure.

Q. Tim, you talk a lot about having fun, and you put that theory out there for a couple years. How do you have fun even when you go over or make a mistake in the field or the team loses a close game? How do you impart that to the younger guys? Hey, it happens, but you've got to keep going.

TIM ANDERSON: You play so many games that you try to forget about it. You can't really change what happened. We are playing a struggling game, but it's okay to be happy about it. The biggest thing is to keep pushing. It's easy to get discouraged in this game, but you've got to keep your mind right and just compete and have fun. And the rest of it, you don't really worry about anything else.

Q. I have heard you characterized in leadership terms this year more than ever before, and I know Tony made it kind of a priority, make sure you guys were good, that you understood each other, you recognized that you've got some influence. Do you feel a heightened sense of responsibility for how this series goes, how this postseason goes, your role in it, and what that means for the bigger picture?

TIM ANDERSON: No, I'm just going to continue to what I've been doing the whole season. It's just enjoy the moment, embrace this moment. This is a huge series, but you're going to try to keep it simple just like a regular season game and just have fun with it and go out and compete and try to be dominant. Try not to think about everything else that's going on on the outside or think about you guys, what you guys are saying.

We just try to keep it simple and go out and compete and play as hard as you can. That's all you can do, just try to get a win.

Q. What is the value of having been in the postseason last year for a group that was learning to win and getting better? Obviously, you're not happy you lost in the playoffs last year, but how do you think that will benefit you as you get started this year?

TIM ANDERSON: Just getting a little bit of taste last year definitely made guys more hungrier. I definitely didn't like the way that Oakland treated us when we were out there. I'm definitely hungry to get back in the postseason and compete some more, but, yeah, they definitely left a bad taste in my mouth.

We're just going to go out and compete, man, and try to keep it simple and just enjoy the game and enjoy this moment.

Q. Tim, some people have said that the White Sox remind them of the Astros a couple of years ago, a little bit younger. In that regard, what do you think their experience -- I mean, they've had a lot of postseason experience. Does that make any difference in a series like this?

TIM ANDERSON: No, I try not to worry about too much of that. Just keep it simple and go out and play. Everything else don't really matter when you're stepping between those lines. It's about what can you do right now? How can you help your team win right now?

Playing postseason in the past don't really mean anything when you step on the field now. We're just going to have fun and go out and compete and leave it all out on the field for sure.

Q. You mentioned that you didn't take kindly to the loss in the playoffs against the A's when you played in the season. On the same page the Astros, when you were here in June, they dealt you guys a blow. Is that kind of in your mind as you return to play them again here?

TIM ANDERSON: We're just going to go out and compete. We understand what they did to us in the regular season as well, but we're going to go out and compete and give it our best shot. That's all we can do in a moment like this. We go out and compete and give it our best shot and see what happens, see where it leads us.

We're going to be prepared way more than we were. We've got the right man to lead us, in charge.

Q. I've been wanting to ask you this. I know you weren't a huge baseball fan as a kid. Did you watch the playoffs? Was this the time of year that you were even -- was this on your radar?

TIM ANDERSON: I only watched the World Series. That's about it. Half of the time, I didn't really have a team that I was cheering for. But for the most part, I'm definitely going to enjoy this moment. I'm going to cherish this moment and do whatever it takes to get to where we need to be and have fun with it.

These are the moments you want to be in, so we'll definitely have fun.