Lars Anderson (baseball)

Lars Anderson
Anderson as a non-roster invitee in 2009 in his time with the Red Sox
Kōchi Fighting Dogs – No. 22
First baseman
Born: (1987-09-25) September 25, 1987 (age 29) Oakland, California
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 6, 2010, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics (through 2012 season)
Batting average	.167
Home runs	0
Runs batted in	4
Teams
Boston Red Sox (2010–2012)

Lars Anderson (born September 25, 1987) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Kōchi Fighting Dogs of the Shikoku Island League Plus. He played for the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2010 through 2012.

Anderson attended Jesuit High School in Sacramento, California. In his senior season he hit over .400 with 14 home runs in 29 games. He committed to attend the University of California, Berkeley on a scholarship that would allow him to play college baseball for the California Golden Bears baseball team.

Coming into the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, Anderson was considered an early round talent, but dropped to the 18th round due to signability issues. He agreed to an $825,000 signing bonus with the Red Sox, equivalent to the suggested bonus for a first round supplemental pick.

He made his professional debut in April 2007 with the Greenville Drive. "He really understands the strike zone well, and he recognizes balls and strikes early," said Gabe Kapler, the former Sox outfielder who was Anderson's manager at Greenville. "[H]e was way ahead of the game because he was already recognizing balls and strikes and had a plan, an approach at the plate that was advanced. He had planned on not swinging at breaking balls until he had two strikes on him."

In September 2008, Anderson was named the Minor League Offensive Player of the Year for the Red Sox, following a season of a combined 18 home runs and 80 runs batted in while hitting over .300 for both the Lancaster JetHawks and Portland Sea Dogs.