And now?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m actually one of the people who recommended him. That kind of tells you a lot,\u201d Chiti said. \u201cI probably misspoke 10 years ago. The quote was me more out of frustration with some other things I don\u2019t want to get into. But it\u2019s not an indication of anything between us. I\u2019m excited to be around him, because of his intelligence and knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a player, Anderson never imagined he might one day coach. But he experienced something of a revelation in 2003, his last year in professional baseball, after the San Diego Padres released him in spring training. Rather than simply retire, Anderson surprised late Padres general manager Kevin Towers by asking if he could go to Triple A. Towers agreed, and Anderson relished his time with the Portland (Ore.) Beavers. For the first time, at age 39, he found himself serving as a mentor.<\/p>\n
Years later, after joining the Orioles in his front-office role, Anderson gravitated not just to hitters but also to pitchers. \u201cSeeing the potential in guys,\u201d Mancini said, \u201cthey might not see in themselves.\u201d The Orioles parted with Anderson after the 2019 season, Mike Elias\u2019 first as head of baseball operations. But Anderson continued working with players on his own.<\/p>\n
In 2024, he spent a week as an instructor with the Angels in spring training. He did not anticipate that, a little more than a year later, Minasian would contact him about becoming the team\u2019s hitting coach.<\/p>\n
The idea gave Anderson pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know in these jobs, and in jobs in general, if you want to be good, it has to be your life\u2019s obsession,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cThat was the first question I asked myself: Am I ready to make this my life\u2019s obsession? I quickly answered yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helping players improve, he said, is a driving force in his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t just give me purpose,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019m good at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ask former major-league catcher Caleb Joseph about Anderson, and he\u2019ll take you back to when they met in 2012.<\/p>\n
Joseph was 26, playing the third of his four straight seasons at Double A. Anderson, as the Orioles\u2019 VP of baseball operations, was visiting the team\u2019s affiliate in Bowie, Md.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrady is one of the main reasons that I actually made it to the big leagues, if I\u2019m being honest with you,\u201d Joseph said.<\/p>\n
Anderson took an interest in Joseph, then called him after the 2012 season to lay out a training regimen, everything from weightlifting to proper eating. During spring training, Anderson invited the minor leaguer to live with him. He told Joseph that to get to Triple A, he needed to hit 20 homers, drive in 100 runs and catch 120 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018What? Those are big numbers for Double A,\u2019\u201d Joseph said.<\/p>\n
Newly determined, Joseph got off to a good offensive start. About a week into the season, Anderson called and asked how he was catching. Joseph explained that the team was using him only as a DH.<\/p>\n
![\"Brady](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP331326743214-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Brady Anderson worked with Orioles first baseman Chris Davis in September 2015. (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)<\/p>\n
Anderson was appalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew from the pitchers that Caleb could catch,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cI knew from watching him he had good hands, was a good framer, had a good arm.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his vaguely defined front-office role, Anderson said he preferred to collaborate, not dictate. But after hanging up with Joseph, he made a unilateral decision. He called Graham and said Joseph needed to start catching again.<\/p>\n
Within minutes, Bowie manager Gary Kendall changed his lineup, listing Joseph at catcher, not DH.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrady was the first guy to literally say, \u2018This guy is a big-league catcher. I don\u2019t know what we\u2019re waiting on. Let\u2019s get him going,\u2019\u201d Joseph said.<\/p>\n
Joseph finished the 2013 season with 22 homers, 97 RBIs and 135 games played, including 62 starts at catcher. He did not get a September call-up, but Anderson lobbied Showalter to give him an extended look in the spring of 2014.<\/p>\n
About five weeks into that season, the Orioles\u2019 starting catcher, Matt Wieters, suffered a season-ending elbow injury. Joseph was summoned to replace him, a little more than a month before he turned 28. He ended up starting three games at catcher in the postseason, which ended with the Orioles losing to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.<\/p>\n
Between 2014 and \u201920, Joseph played in 425 major-league games. In 2022, he joined Rogers Sportsnet as an analyst on Toronto Blue Jays broadcasts.<\/p>\n
His baseball life could have been so different.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have stalled out at Double A if it had not been for Brady fighting for me,\u201d Joseph said.<\/p>\n
After departing as Orioles pitching coach in 2017, Wallace said Anderson made it no secret that he had little respect for major-league coaches, and added that he told Anderson that to his face.<\/p>\n
Anderson\u2019s frustrations with certain coaches stemmed in part from his own struggles early in his career. In the book \u201cMoneyball,\u201d author Michael Lewis described how Billy Beane\u2019s negative perception of scouting was rooted in the scouting community\u2019s failure to properly evaluate him as a player. Anderson had a similar feeling about coaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of \u2019em bothered me. Some of \u2019em were dismissive. Some of \u2019em were great,\u201d he said. \u201cI came up through the minors without a hiccup. I don\u2019t think I went 0-for-10 in the minors. And I wasn\u2019t allowed to bunt. Then I come to the majors, and I struggle. I\u2019m asked to bunt, asked to hit the ball on the ground. They wanted me to utilize my speed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried. But they did a lot of things that were counterproductive. I could easily be one of the hundreds of players who played a couple of years in the big leagues and didn\u2019t quite get on track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Between 1988 and \u201991, his ages 24 to 27 seasons, Anderson batted .219 with 10 homers and a .619 OPS in 1,273 plate appearances. His career ignited only after the late Johnny Oates committed to him as the Orioles\u2019 leadoff man, and only after Anderson decided to do it his way.<\/p>\n
![\"Brady](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2233631893-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Brady Anderson waves to the crowd at Camden Yards last September during a ceremony commemorating the 30th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr.\u2019s record for consecutive games played. (Diamond Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The pivotal moment for Anderson occurred in 1991, following yet another demotion to Triple A. Anderson reported immediately, ready to play. But he was done trying to slap the ball to the opposite field. He asked one favor of the manager, Greg Biagini: Bat me fourth.<\/p>\n
Anderson began standing up straighter in the box, the way he did in the minors, not necessarily trying to hit home runs, just trying to drive the ball. He hit 50 home runs in a season only once, in 1996, triggering suspicions that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Those suspicions were never supported by any form of evidence. From \u201992 to 2000, Anderson averaged 21 homers, and his adjusted OPS was 20 percent above league average.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe talks all the time about when he first came up, his struggles,\u201d said former Oriole Ryan Flaherty, who is now the Chicago Cubs\u2019 bench coach. \u201cHe really gravitates toward players who are struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anderson, though, said he doesn\u2019t limit himself simply to those types, pointing out that during his 15-year career, he experienced extreme highs and extreme lows.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gravitate toward people that need help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Showalter seconded that, telling the Angels\u2019 Minasian the worst thing about Anderson is that he will try to \u201csave everybody.\u201d But the Angels were drawn to how much Anderson cared about players, as well as his backstory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted somebody who was bad and turned into being good,\u201d Minasian said. \u201cI wanted somebody who was a bench guy who turned into a dude.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Angels\u2019 options were also limited. By holding Suzuki and his staff to one-year contracts, they reduced their chances of hiring a more accomplished hitting coach.<\/p>\n
Ask Zack Britton about Anderson, and he\u2019ll take you back to 2013. Unable to establish himself as a starting pitcher, the left-hander was demoted to Triple-A Norfolk four times.<\/p>\n
Anderson, on his visits to Norfolk, occasionally would watch pitchers throw their bullpens. Seeing the potential in Britton, he would tell him, \u201cMan, you have great stuff. You shouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI personally hadn\u2019t heard that in a while,\u201d Britton said. \u201cWhat I was hearing from coaches was really negative. Everything around me was negative. It was the first time I had someone talking me up, being supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n