DeRosa benching Tim Anderson in WBC has fans MAD on Twitter originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
On Tuesday night, Team USA entered the top of the ninth inning against Japan down one run. The gold medal in the biggest international baseball tournament was on the line and they needed a spark against one of the best pitchers in the world, Shohei Ohtani. Luckily Tim Anderson was slated to start the inning. Anderson is no stranger to coming through in big moments, and Team USA manager Mark DeRosa had previously made the decision to move Anderson over to second base, a position he’d never played professionally, just to get his batー and his energyー into the lineup.
But Anderson never got the chance to put the US on his back for a thrilling comeback. DeRosa decided to use Jeff McNeil as a pinch hitter. McNeil ended up drawing a walk, but the United States ultimately lost, and fans on Twitter were left disappointed and wondering what could’ve been if Anderson had the opportunity to hit.
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In six games for Team USA, Anderson hit .333 with one double, one triple, five RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base. He is expected to return to White Sox Spring Training on Thursday.
