The Bernstein Brief: Tim Anderson Is Making History

By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist

(CBS) White Sox rookie shortstop Tim Anderson is piling up plate appearances through his first 18 major league games and, amazingly, has yet to reach base via a base on balls.

Statistical analyst Scott Lindholm has put Anderson's start into historical context by using the first 18 games of a career to measure similarly walk-less starts going back more than 100 years, and he reveals that Anderson is indeed an all-timer.

He has no walks in 83 appearances, a mark that ties him with Cincinnati's Chico Ruiz, who reached that very same number -- 83 -- through 18 games in 1964. Others have kept streaks going through more total games and more individual chances, but Anderson has combined a busy rate of usage and dearth of walks from the outset of his career at a record-tying pace.

Anderson has a batting average and on-base percentage that mirror one another at .293, and he's swung the bat well with a .793 OPS.

Here's a look at Lindholm's research to see how Anderson stacks up in this historic regard. (Click to enlarge.)

Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter  @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.

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