His road to MLB included amateur ball and jail time. He finally debuted on Opening Day
The first relief pitcher the Miami Marlins used in the 2019 season waited almost a decade for the opportunity.
With Jose Urena struggling in the fifth inning of an eventual 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, Nick Anderson clamored up to the mound from the bullpen. The 28-year-old rookie relief pitcher, whose career began in 2012 with two bad seasons in the independent Frontier League and jail time, was tasked with stopping Opening Day for the Marlins from getting out of hand.
“I’m not going to lie, my heart rate was a little up, but honestly it was more excitement,” Anderson said after the game, “like, Hey, I’m here. Here’s my opportunity.”
Anderson faced one batter and did the job he was asked. With a runner on second, Anderson threw two pitches and got Ryan McMahon to ground out to shortstop to end the inning. He kept the Marlins’ deficit at 6-0 after Urena, who got hit by a line drive in the second inning, ran into trouble.
It wasn’t the easiest way to get into a game for the first time, which is just fine for Anderson. In his first two seasons in the Frontier League, Anderson had an ERA worse than 6.00 before he finally did enough to impress the Minnesota Twins in his third year. He steadily rose through the Twins system, culminating with his 3.30 ERA last year in Triple A. Miami acquired him in a trade in the fall and Anderson earned one of the final roster spots following a strong spring training.
Anderson waited so long for Thursday he knew he had to be ready.
“I just try to stay calm through the whole thing, to be honest,” Anderson said. “I think I’ve kind of surprised myself with how calm I’ve been through this whole thing. I don’t know if that’s just because I’ve been waiting my whole life for the opportunity, so it’s like, ‘Hey, I got it.’ Why be nervous about it or freak out, let your emotions take over? So I’ve really been surprised by myself.”
Given his short work Thursday, Anderson could be an option again out of the bullpen Friday, when the Marlins (0-1) continue their season-opening four-game series against Colorado (1-0) at 7:10 p.m. in Miami. Starting pitcher Trevor Richards will be on the mound for the home team at Marlins Park, facing Rockies starting pitcher German Marquez.
With one successful outing out of the way, Anderson is ready for whatever his role holds.
“The first one over the plate, it’s like, Alright, it’s the same thing. Really, I was trying to take it like any other game. obviously it was a big debut, but, hey, it’s baseball, so I try to treat it like a Little League game, Double A, Triple A game. It was good.”