Not since Ted Williams in 1941 has a major leaguer finished a season with a .400 batting average. Brett "Babe" Anderson is on pace to shatter that mark.
Okay, so the sample size is a bit small, but Anderson is now 4-for-6 this year, translating to a ridiculous .667 batting average. The A's left-hander notched a pair of opposite-field singles off of Cubs starter Jon Lester on Tuesday night, as Oakland breezed to an 11-4 win over Chicago.
"We'll probably look for a position for Brett Anderson to play tomorrow," A's manager Bob Melvin joked to reporters. "It's not that easy. The guys were giving him a little grief about being able to just hit line drives the other way off of Jon Lester."
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One of the hitters giving Anderson grief was All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman.
"Yeah, I think Chapman was kind of angry," Anderson told reporters. "I told him I'll be down in the cages early tomorrow if he wants some pointers."
Stephen Piscotty crushed a three-run homer in the win, his 10th of the season, but he was more impressed by Anderson's hitting prowess.
"We were all joking about it," Piscotty told reporters. "He looked like Babe Ruth up there. To all fields, polished. It's pretty funny."
Anderson took to Twitter after the game to brag to NBC Sports California analyst and former A's teammate Dallas Braden.
Said Anderson: "The first two at-bats, my thought process was just don't look like an idiot, and I ended up getting two hits. And then the third one, I was like, 'Alright, I might try to hit one hard' and then I swung at one over my head. So it was kind of backward. I blacked out, I don't know. I swung and found a hole."
In just two games, Anderson has now set an A's record for the most hits by a pitcher in the DH era. He has four, passing Tim Hudson and Tommy Milone, who each had three.
Oakland Athletics
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"It's kind of a running joke," Anderson said. "I couldn't really draw it up. Do I have the most hits now as a pitcher? If you're a betting person, I don't think I would've been a good money line. I'll take it though."
Oh, by the way, Anderson also tossed six strong innings, allowing just two runs, for his 10th win of the season, his most since 2015. The 31-year-old is just one win away from matching his career-high, set during his rookie season way back in 2009.