(Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
It was Sunday, May 6, a little after 2 a.m. on the 600 block of Paul W. Bryant Drive in Tuscaloosa, AL. The 3000 Bar had just closed and a fight had broken out. It was four against one. 23-year-old Branden Moss, witnessing this fight take place, walked over to help the victim. After assisting the victim, Moss walked over to one of the men involved in the fight who was in his car in the bar parking lot about to leave. While the two were talking, another man, who was not involved in the fight, walked up behind Moss, pulled out a handgun, and shot him several times at close range. Moss managed to run 75 feet before collapsing.
At 2:15, Tuscaloosa Police and the University of Alabama police responded to a call about a shooting in a bar parking lot. When they arrived, they found Branden Moss, lying in the parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds. Moss was transported to DCH Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Branden Moss was close friends with Chicago White Sox shortstop, Tim Anderson. They became friends when they were only teenagers and only grew closer and closer as time went on. Anderson was the godfather to Moss’ daughter, and Moss was the godfather to Anderson’s.
"He was a special part of my life. He's someone that I looked up to. He would tell me that he looked up to me, but it's more so I looked up to him. We made each other better," Anderson said about Moss before a game against the Twins after Moss’ death.
In memory of Moss, Anderson wrote “BMoss” in silver sharpie on the side of his hat. He also put "B. Moss" on the back of his jersey during players weekend. "People say play and try to get your mind off it, but that wasn't the case. I think about him all the time, really. … It's tough, but I feel like I'm going to get through it. I know he's always going to be with me."
(Hannah Foslien/Getty Images North America)
Before Moss’ tragic death, Anderson was struggling on the field after a solid rookie campaign. He was hitting only .210 with two homers, six RBIs, and 31 strikeouts in 28 games.
Anderson’s struggles didn’t end. In the first 93 games of the season (until August first), Anderson slashed .232/.254/.347 with only nine home runs, 29 RBIs, and 38 runs. One a 162-game pace, Anderson would have hit only 16 home runs and 51 RBIs.
Through these 93 games, Anderson had an isolated power (ISO) of .115. Isolated power is the difference between slugging percentage and batting average, measuring a hitter’s extra bases per at bat and raw power. An ISO of .140 is considered league average, so in the first 93 games of the season, Anderson was significantly below average in terms of raw power.
Through these 93 games, Anderson was also well below average in terms of wOBA (weighting on base average) and wRC+ (weighted runs created plus). wOBA is similar to on-base percentage, but it takes into account the value of the different outcomes of each at bat (single, double, etc.). Anderson had a wOBA of .258 through the first 93 games, but an average hitter will typically finish the season with a wOBA of roughly .320.
wRC+, like wOBA, uses the different at bat outcomes (single, double, etc.) to assign a value to a player based on runs. wRC+ is calculated so that league average is 100. For example, a player with a wRC+ of 125 has created 25% more runs than a league average hitter in the same amount of at bats. Anderson had a wRC+ of 57 during the first 93 games, which means that he created 43% fewer runs than a league average hitter in the same amount of at bats.
This regression came as a huge surprise after Tim Anderson batted .283/.306/.432 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs in a very solid rookie season. Anderson was also impressive at shortstop, finishing the season with a defensive runs saved of six. Due to this success, Anderson was handsomely rewarded with a 6-year/$25 million deal.
For more than half of the season, Tim Anderson was looking like a huge disappointment. But something changed within Anderson, resulting in an unbelievable final two months. From August 2nd to the end of the season, Anderson slashed .299/.314/.493 with 8 home runs, 27 RBIs, and 34 runs scored. At this pace, over a 162 game season, Anderson would have hit 25 home runs and 83 RBIs while scoring 104 runs. This stretch of games also included a 15-game hit streak from September 8th to the 24th.
(Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America)
During this stretch, Anderson had an ISO of .195, which is significantly above league average of .140. He also had a wOBA of .340 and a wRC+ of 113, both of which are fantastic numbers.
"I'm feeling back to myself, just having fun and able to play free," Anderson said in mid-September. "I didn't realize until I started seeing a counselor. We talked and I just listened to some of the things she told me. I was like, 'Man, that's a lot I've been through.'”
Tim Anderson struggled mightily through the majority of the season, and White Sox fans were beginning to question his extension. However, once Anderson was able put the unimaginable tragedy behind him, he began to show the potential he exposed Chicago to during his rookie season. With the White Sox fully launched into a rebuild and youth movement, Anderson is going to be a key piece on the South Side for years to come.