The continuing offensive struggles of young White Sox center fielder Brian Anderson–Sunday night’s home run and single and Monday night’s double notwithstanding–remind one of his storied predecessors of his own early-career difficulties.
“He doesn’t look like me, but he does look like me,” Jim Landis, 72, the lean Gold Glove center fielder of the 1959 White Sox, said Sunday night from Napa, Calif. “He’s struggling like I did. I understand what he’s going through, believe me.
“My first game in the big leagues (Opening Day, 1957), I faced [Cleveland’s] Herb Score. I popped out and struck out twice. I said, `Hey, I better keep my lunch pail ready if all major-league pitchers are going to be like this.’
“I was in awe of the whole situation. Putting on a major-league uniform, the whole deal. [Anderson] might be the same way. It took me awhile to get over that. But then I woke up, made a contribution–`Hey, I belong!’ You get a couple of hits and, `Hey, this isn’t so bad.'”
It took Landis some time before he felt that way, though. After a .212 rookie season, he was hitting just .184 the following June 1 with meager totals of three home runs and six RBIs. His terrific defense was keeping him in Al Lopez’s lineup, just as Anderson’s is keeping him in Ozzie Guillen’s.
But then everything clicked. Landis went on a tear and was up to .290 by July 1. He had taken over the No. 3 spot in the batting order and was still there when the Sox played the Dodgers in the World Series the next fall.
His first year in Chicago included a month’s banishment to Triple-A Indianapolis. Would Anderson benefit from taking a step back? “Sometimes that helps,” Landis said. “I went down for a while in ’57. It didn’t help my hitting: I only hit about .250. But it’s a jolt. You say, `Hey, I don’t want to be here.’ It clears your mind.”
If he had a chance to talk with Anderson now, what would he tell him?
“I’d tell him, definitely, `Don’t get too far down on yourself. Things can turn around real quick.’ I’d remind him, `Hey, the manager is on your side. Ozzie’s behind you.’ That has to make a big difference. And also, this is a real good ballclub. As long as you’re winning, that helps a whole lot. If you were losing, you’d really feel the pressure.
“And he’s with a good bunch of guys. He should look at it that way. I was very fortunate too. I always said I had about six fathers: Billy Pierce, Nellie Fox, Minnie Minoso, Sherm Lollar, guys like that. They were very encouraging, would pat me on the back, take me to dinner. Very supportive. If you don’t have that, good luck.”
Which is what Jim Landis wishes for his latest successor, five decades removed.
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bvanderberg@tribune.com
