Former Angels All-Star Garrett Anderson dies of a heart attack at age 53

Garrett Anderson (Derral Chen, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Curt Sandoval of ABC Sports Los Angeles, former Los Angeles Angels All-Star outfielder Garrett Anderson of Los Angeles, California passed away on Friday of a heart attack at only the age of 53. Anderson played 17 seasons in the Major Leagues, 15 of them with the Angels organization from 1994 to 2008. He also played one year each with the Atlanta Braves (2009) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2010).

Anderson batted .293 with 287 home runs and 1365 runs batted in. During 9177 plate appearances, 8640 at bats, and 2228 games, he scored 1084 runs and had 2529 hits, 522 doubles, 36 triples, 80 stolen bases, 429 walks, 3984 total bases, 13 sacrifice bunts, 87 sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .324 an a slugging percentage of .461.

Known for his doubles, Anderson led the Major Leagues with 56 doubles in 2002 and the American League with 49 doubles in 2003. Anderson’s 56 doubles in 2022 are an Angels single season franchise record, and his 522 doubles are 50th all-time in MLB history.

Anderson is the Angels all-time leader in hits (2368), total bases (3743), doubles (489), runs batted in (1292), singles (1572), extra base hits (796) and sacrifice flies (76). One may be surprised that it is Anderson who leads the Angels in so many career offensive categories, and not their current superstar Mike Trout. 

A three-time American League All-Star, Anderson was honoured in 2002, 2003 and 2005. In 2002, Anderson was part of the Angels team that won the World Series. In seven games, the Angels knocked out the San Francisco Giants in an exciting all-California October Classic that went the distance. Anderson put together excellent offensive statistics in the 2002 postseason, as he batted .300 with six extra base hits and a strong slugging percentage of .443.