The New Haven baseball team went 80-15 in three seasons with Rich Anderson in the starting rotation, with the right-hander posting a personal record of 23-6 in 37 appearances.
Anderson, who got the win on the mound in the program’s first NAIA College World Series victory, owns a career earned-run average of 1.61 (4th all-time) on 218 innings of work. He racked up 290 strikeouts, which slots him 4th all-time in the Chargers' record books, compared to 70 walks.
He currently ranks 7th in career all-time complete games with 15 and is tied for ninth in shutouts, registering four in three seasons at New Haven. In addition to his career records, his 146 strikeouts in 1971 pit him atop the record books for most strikeouts in a single season.
In 1970, Anderson tallied 12 wins, good for t-seventh on the all-time single season charts where his lowest earned run average of 1.38 puts him ninth. He also posted four saves in 1971, good for 10th in the single season record book.
Anderson was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968 following his high school career and was selected by the New York Mets in 1971 but chose to pitch for New Haven. He was drafted for a third time in the first round (fourth overall) of the Secondary Phase of the 1972 MLB January Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1972. His professional career peeked with an appearance on the Pirate’s Triple-A affiliate in Charleston while collecting 36 professional wins in a five-year career.Â
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