Title: Brett Anderson Is Comfortable Being Unconventional
Date: September 29, 2017
Original Source: Vice
Synopsis: For my latest at Vice, I wrote about Brett Anderson’s latest comeback attempt, and employing some self-deprecation to help fight his way through the ups and downs.
Brett Anderson sat at one end the Toronto Blue Jays dugout at Rogers Centre last Wednesday, frustration palpable with each exhale through the sweat still collected on a thick, ginger beard. Hoodie now adorned, Anderson took his hat, bit a tear in the elastic, and ripped it in half. It was equal parts Bushwacker and Darko Milicic, Anderson’s stoic face still not betraying the disappointment his assault on the uniform laid plain.
He joked to reporters that he left a souvenir in the dugout for them, and later told baseball personalities Dallas Braden and Brian Wilson that “you’re welcome for the content.”
That Anderson was able to work some humour in after a tough night is true to his nature, even if he was still clearly upset with himself after getting hooked early, having surrendered eight earned runs in 1 1/3 innings. It was his worst start in his brief stint as a Blue Jay, and Anderson took little solace from manager John Gibbons’ relayed comments about the outing not changing how impressed the team’s been with him. He was hard on himself, describing his start as terrible, and talked about being humbled.
