Baltimore.Orioles.MLB.com

By Gary Washburn / MLB.com

Brady Anderson set a club record with 50 home runs in the 1996 season. (Dave Hammond/AP)

Anderson doesn't look like most of the aging former ballplayers who receive this illustrious honor. The 40-year-old looks as if he could still play some center field in the Major Leagues. But on Friday, he fielded questions about his just-concluded career, which including 14 standout seasons for the Orioles.

"I loved playing here in Baltimore and it's a good reward for me," he said. "If I would have been traded or had my career broken in parts with other teams, I wouldn't have made any Hall of Fame. The fans showed a great loyalty to me."

The sideburned Anderson was a staple of the Orioles in the 1990s, defining the club nearly as much as close friend and all-time favorite Cal Ripken, who was one of the first to congratulate Anderson on the honor.

Perhaps because of the presence of Ripken, Rafael Palmeiro, Eddie Murray, Albert Belle and other potential Hall of Famers, Anderson's contributions to the Orioles' effort were somewhat overshadowed.

Anderson holds four season-season Oriole records, three from his career season in 1996. He is the team's all-time leader in homers for a season with 50 in 1996, one better than Frank Robinson in 1966. He also collected a club record 92 extra-base hits that season, 369 total bases and was hit by pitches 22 times, two short of his club record set in 1999.

He was also a standout center fielder and a leadoff hitter with a knack for reaching base.

"When I started putting up the numbers, I always looked at where I was as far as Oriole all-time," he said. "After seven or eight years, I started shooting up the list."

While Anderson said he is proud of his accomplishments, he is gnawed by finishing four triples short of Brooks Robinson's club record of 68.

"There's a few (records) I wish I would have had," he said. "I needed a few more triples to catch Brooks, which is going to bother me forever. There is no way he should have more triples than I have."

While his career was marked by consistency, Anderson said he is still bothered by the rough beginning and the rapid decline of his career. He was a .210 hitter in the first four seasons with the Orioles before becoming a full-time starter and more an offensive force.

After hitting 19 home runs with a .375 on-base percentage in 2000, Anderson hit just .202 with eight homers and a .311 on-base percentage the next season. Sensing Anderson's skills had declined, the Orioles bought out the final year of his contract.

He signed with the Cleveland Indians before the '02 season and hit just .162 in 34 games before being released. He tried one more time at a comeback, hitting .294 in 23 games with the Padres' Triple-A affiliate in Portland until finally retiring.

"I feel like I had a good career but it could have been better," he said. "I didn't start too strong and ended too strong, but I had a good middle. I don't know if it ended too soon, maybe a year or two. It definitely didn't with the success I wanted. It makes me still want to play at times. That's one of the things that made me decide to go back to the minor leagues, not the way I wanted to go out. That's what made it disappointing."

Gary Washburn is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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