Garret Anderson

Garret Joseph Anderson

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 190-225 lb.
• High School John F. Kennedy High School (Granada Hills)
• Debut July 27, 1994
• Final Game August 6, 2010
• Born June 30, 1972 in Los Angeles, CA USA
• Died April 16, 2026 in Newport Beach, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Garret Anderson is the all-time franchise leader for the Los Angeles Angels in games (2,013), at-bats (7,989), hits (2,368), total bases (3,743), doubles (489) and RBIs (1,292). He also held the team record of 1,024 runs until being passed by Mike Trout in 2022. He played for the team under three of its identities: the California Angels, the Anaheim Angels and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He was a key member of their only World Series-winning team in 2002 and has the longest hitting streak in Angels history, hitting safely in 28 straight games in 1998.

Anderson set an Angels franchise record when he drove in 10 runs on August 21, 2007, in a game against the New York Yankees. Anderson doubled in Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera in the 1st against Mike Mussina. In the 2nd, he doubled home Vladimir Guerrero. In the 3rd, he cracked a three-run homer against Edwar Ramirez. In the 6th he hit a grand slam off Sean Henn. He was the last major league player with a ten-RBI game until Anthony Rendon in 2017, and one of only 16 players to achieve the feat. Also that season, Anderson set an Angels record with 11 straight games with a RBI, surpassing the 10 accomplished in the 1980s by both Fred Lynn and Wally Joyner.

He was an excellent all-around hitter, with six seasons of batting over .300, five with 39 or more doubles, including back-to-back years in which he led the American League in 2002 and 2003, and five straight seasons of hitting 20+ home runs, with a high of 35 in 2000. While he never scored 100 runs in a season, he had five straight season of scoring over 80 runs, and another of 79 runs, and he drove in over 100 runs four times, and twice more reached 90 RBIs. His only flaw was that he did not draw many walks, with a career high of just 38. As a result, in spite of an excellent career batting average of .293, his OBP is a pedestrian .324. Still, his OPS+ was usually over 100, and just below that in most of the years when he failed to reach the mark. He was selected for the All-Star Game three times and was named the MVP of the contest in 2003.

In the 2002 World Series, he went 9 for 32 with 6 RBIs in the Angels' win over the San Francisco Giants. In the decisive Game 7, he hit a three-run double off Livan Hernandez in the 3rd inning that was the key to Anaheim winning the game, 4-1, and the title.

After playing for the Angels from 1994 to 2008, he became a free agent and signed with the Atlanta Braves in 2009. In 2010, he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Expected to be mostly a pinch-hitter, injuries gave him more playing time but he did not respond well, hitting only .181 in 155 at-bats. He was designated for assignment on August 8th. After going unclaimed and with no contract offers for the 2011 season, Anderson announced his retirement on March 1, 2011. In 2016, Anderson gained entrance to the Angels Hall of Fame. He worked on Angels broadcasts during his retirement.

He passed away unexpectedly in April of 2026 at the relatively young age of 53. The team immediately announced that it would wear a shoulder patch with his initials in his honor for the remainder of the season. His death was announced on April 17th, although Angels players had learned about it the night before on their flight back to Los Angeles from New York. The team held a minute of silence before that night's game at Angels Stadium and debuted the special uniform patch, then went on to defeat the San Diego Padres, 8-0, to stop the visitors' eight-game winning streak. An autopsy revealed the cause of death to have been necrotizing pancreatitis which led to a loss of consciousness, and not a heart attack, as had first been suggested.

Notable Achievements

• 1995 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• 3-time AL All-Star (2002, 2003 & 2005)
• 2003 All-Star Game MVP
• 2-time AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2002 & 2003)
• AL Singles Leader (1997)
• 2-time AL Doubles Leader (2002 & 2003)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 5 (1999-2003)
• 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2000)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 4 (2000-2003)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 1 (2003)
• Won a World Series with the Anaheim Angels in 2002

Further Reading

• Anthony Castrovince: "Angels great Garret Anderson passes away at 53", mlb.com, April 17, 2026. [1]
• Courtney Hollmon: "Angels honor legend Garret Anderson with tribute, 'GA' patches", mlb.com, April 18, 2026. [2]

Related Sites

• Garret Anderson on mlb.com