He took that first step Sunday, going 2-for-2 in the Red Sox' Grapefruit League opener. In the seventh inning, the first baseman crushed a breaking ball over JetBlue Park's right-field fence for a grand slam, keying the Red Sox to a 8-3 win over the Twins.
"Adrian [Gonzalez] who?," Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine cracked. "I don't think you can hit a ball better than that. I mean that was a low breaking ball, it was too far to be a souvenir. Probably broke something when it landed in the parking lot. Struck perfectly as [hitting coach Dave Magadan] would say."
Anderson credits the strong offensive start back to Sparta, the facility in his home state of California. He expects the consistency to continue.
"In BP, I feel a lot stronger," Anderson said. "I could feel it hitting in the offseason and I could see the ball jumping a little more than in years past. The difference was training in the offseason and I'm getting older."
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