MLB
Garret Anderson won a World Series and made three All-Star teams over a 17-year career mostly spent with the Angels. Stephen Dunn / Getty Images
Garret Anderson, a graceful and enduring left fielder who set Los Angeles Angels franchise records for hits, games and runs batted in, died of a heart attack, the club announced Friday. Anderson, who led the Angels to their only championship in 2002, was 53 years old.
“Garret will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Angels fans for his professionalism, class, and loyalty throughout his career and beyond. His admiration and respect for the game was immeasurable,” said Angels Owner Arte Moreno. “We extend our deepest condolences to Garret’s wife Teresa, daughters Brianne and Bailey, son Garret ‘Trey’ Anderson III, and his entire family.”
Advertisement
The Angels chose Anderson in the fourth round of the draft in 1990, and by the time he left to join the Atlanta Braves, in 2009, he had spent more than half his life with the organization. Anderson had played at John F. Kennedy High in Granada Hills, Calif., and the fit was perfect.
“It’s like a dream come true, because you grow up looking at them on TV,” Anderson told the Los Angeles Times, after turning down Fresno State to sign with the Angels. “Little kids have dreams of playing at home.”
Neither side could have known the fantasy that awaited. The Angels, founded in 1961, had reached the American League Championship Series three times in Anderson’s childhood, but always fell short of the pennant. They endured more heartbreak in his rookie season, in 1995, when they fumbled an 11-game division lead and missed the playoffs.
By 2002, though, they had coalesced around a homegrown core: Anderson, Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad, Troy Glaus and Bengie Molina in the lineup; Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey, Troy Percival and Francisco Rodriguez on the pitching staff.
They ripped through the AL playoffs — Anderson hit .316 against the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins — but dropped three of the first five World Series games to the San Francisco Giants.
Trailing 5-0 in Game 6, the Angels rallied to win, with Anderson singling just before Glaus’ go-ahead double in the eighth. The next night, Anderson played the hero, with a three-run double in the third inning that gave the Angels the margin of victory in a 4-1 triumph.
He always seemed to be. Through name changes (California, Anaheim, Los Angeles), ownership changes, stadium renovations and more, Anderson was a franchise fixture, helping build the second team in the Los Angeles market into a first-rate attraction.
Advertisement
In Anderson’s first non-strike season, 1996, the Angels drew 1.8 million fans. In 2003, the year after their championship, the Angels began a streak of 17 seasons with at least 3 million fans.
Anderson was a quiet, stoic presence who never seemed to seek the spotlight; in many ways, the definition of a solid professional. After the championship, the Angels would win four AL West titles with Anderson, and they followed his lead as an offense.
“When he talked, you listened,” said David Eckstein, the shortstop and leadoff man for the 2002 champions. “He was one of the more underrated players in the game. When you looked up the definition of professional, that was GA. He was such a class act. Good person on the field, off the field. Such a mentor to young guys like myself.”
GA we will miss you greatly. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:13. My brother in Christ we will be reunited again. pic.twitter.com/ozdTq6vUuW
— Tim Salmon (@TimSalmon15) April 17, 2026
When Anderson came to bat, he was ready to swing — he never drew more than 38 walks in a season, but also never fanned more than 100 times. He did not steal many bases, but ran hard and aggressively, twice leading the American League in doubles. He topped 30 homers only once, but pitchers had to respect his power, which he showed off at the 2003 All-Star Game at the Chicago White Sox’s home ballpark.
Anderson won the Home Run Derby, beating Albert Pujols in the final. His sweet left-handed swing — like Will Clark or Ken Griffey Jr., with less fanfare — carried over into the All-Star Game, when he homered again and was named MVP.
“That swing that I was using tonight is not a swing that I try to use during the season,” Anderson said after the Derby. “It was just strictly for trying to hit balls over the fence. During the season, mentally and physically, I don’t do that. I look for mistakes and try to hit them hard.”
Advertisement
“I never thought about leaving, ever,” he said after signing a four-year contract extension in 2004. “They were going to have to nudge me out of the door. I couldn’t see myself wearing another uniform.”
He finally did in 2009, after the Angels declined an option year on his contract. After one year with the Braves and another with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Anderson retired with 2,529 hits, a .293 average and a powerful legacy as one of the most important and cherished figures in the history of the Angels.
Eckstein said that players from that team have been trading calls all morning.
“We’ve already been talking,” he said. “It’s definitely something that’s hit us all. Like the age, you can’t believe it.”
With contributions from The Athletic‘s Sam Blum
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle
Tyler Kepner is a Senior Writer for The Athletic covering MLB. He previously worked for The New York Times, covering the Mets (2000-2001) and Yankees (2002-2009) and serving as national baseball columnist from 2010 to 2023. A Vanderbilt University graduate, he has covered the Angels for the Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise and Mariners for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and began his career with a homemade baseball magazine in his native Philadelphia in the early 1990s. Tyler is the author of the best-selling “K: A History of Baseball In Ten Pitches” (2019) and “The Grandest Stage: A History of The World Series” (2022). Follow Tyler on Twitter @TylerKepner