From the Locker Room: Tim Anderson in playoff mode

The effervescent superstar weighs in on his significant growth at the plate — and in the field

An absolute favorite media session, pregame or post, is Tim Anderson. Anderson once again brought his unique brand for humor, vim and honesty to the proceedings before what is almost surely the most important regular season series of his career, hosting the second-place Minnesota Twins.

Right off, Tim was asked about the MVP race, and specifically his thoughts on frontrunner José Abreu

"I’m rooting for him. I hope he gets it," Anderson said.

How about being a frontrunner yourself, Tim. 

"That's definitely pretty cool. But if [José] wins it, then I win it, too. We're on the same team. It’s a win for both of us."

Anderson also echoed hitting coach Frank Menechino's recent comments about having a mentality that, essentially, the postseason has already begun.

"Yeah, it's getting down to the end of the season, so let's start training now like it’s the playoffs," Tim said. "This series is a big one, so let’s treat it like the playoffs."

As for the White Sox coming in as the favorites, in first place, it doesn't hold a ton of water with TA.

"We have a lot of confidence, but in reality, we haven’t done anything," Anderson admitted. "We have the best record, but that doesn’t put any trophies in our pocket."

I asked Tim about the trend of outside observers tending to chalk all his success up to his incredible athletic ability, not hard work and dedication to craft.

"They always do. They always overlook," he replied. "See the route that I took and where I'm at now. I work hard. Every day I try to get better. The respect follows, but I’ve never been a person who tries to please other people. I always try to make myself happy, and I've been making myself happy for these last two years. I don't really care about nobody else."

And with that, Tim Anderson let out a huge laugh.

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Tim Anderson video courtesy of the Chicago White Sox.