From Roch Kubatko's "Roch Around The Clock" blog in the Baltimore Sun...

Toughest Oriole

Not too long ago, some readers made suggestions as to which player
ranked as the toughest Oriole. Someone mentioned Brady Anderson's
appendicitis in 1996. He had it, then he didn't. Coincidentally,
Anderson sent me a text message on Thursday. Your basic, "Hey dude,
how's it going?" So I asked him about the diagnosis, and what happened.

Anderson had an ultrasound while the team was in Boston to find the
source of his pain. One doctor said his appendix had to be removed. "I
couldn't believe it," Anderson said last week. "I had 32 home runs at
the time."

Anderson sought more opinions, and a different doctor said the
condition might go away in rare cases, if he could deal with the pain.
He stayed in bed for a few days and resumed playing. But the Orioles'
head trainer, Richie Bancells, had to find landing points for the
pilot on the team charter that returned to Baltimore, in case of an
emergency.

"I was afraid it was going to burst while we were in the air,"
Bancells said.

Anderson came back and hit 18 more home runs, and the Orioles
qualified for the playoffs in the final weekend. He later joined a
group of major leaguers who toured Japan. I'll leave the rest of his
story out of this entry, but it was good stuff. Trust me.

Anderson broke his ribs the following spring and was told he'd be out
for a few months. He kept playing anyway, reinjuring the ribs, and
helped the Orioles go wire to wire in the AL East. Again, he ignored
the pain.

On the last day of the following spring training, Anderson broke his
hand and again refused to go on the disabled list. Probably a bad
idea. "This time, you could make a case that I didn't kick (butt)," he
said. "That is, if you consider a 4-for-63 start not kicking (butt)."

Anderson also tore a sternoclavicular joint, which finally put him on
the DL.

"So I found when you played injured, you were thought of as a hero
when you played well, and a player whose skills eroded when you
didn't," he said.

"Either way, I always wanted to be on the field."

The best example might have come later, when Anderson was hit by a bus
while roller blading to Camden Yards. The vehicle turned into him, and
he slid under it. Talk about being thrown under a bus. Anderson lived it.

"I wanted to get out of there quick because it was a bus taking fans
to the game," he said. "It hurt pretty bad. I came into the weight
room and took off my pants, and I was bleeding all over the place."

Mike Bordick was the only player who saw that Anderson was hurt. "He
said, 'Dude, what happened to you,'" Anderson recalled. "I said, 'Not
much. A bus full of people just hit me. How are you?'

"He fell down, he was laughing so hard. I told him not to say
anything, and I had a great game. Two doubles, an assist and a catch
at the wall. Josh Towers pitched that day."

"Regardless of my performance, I truely believe there was never a
player with less fear on the field."

Or under a moving bus.

So you tell me, should Anderson make our list?

March 5, 2006, 8:48 AM