In The Dugout – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 21, 2003
Sophomore Drew Anderson has carried with him a unique hobby since his days at Brownsburg High School in Indiana. Anderson spends his spare time as a disc jockey, making most of his appearances at birthday and graduation parties or when hanging out with the guys.
Just call him “DJ Drew.”
Though not among the typical hobbies, Anderson said his services are starting to gain a lot of popularity. So much that he does not have enough time in his busy schedule to accommodate everyone’s requests.
“I’m usually known as the guy who knows all the music,” Anderson said. “I’ve had a lot of friends lately come to me and ask me to play at their parties. Baseball and school keeps me pretty busy, though.”
Anderson’s “walk-up” music (the music playing when he comes to the plate) exemplifies the kind of music he plays and listens to.
“It’s called Let Me Clear My Throat by DJ Kool,” he said. “(Teammate) Kris Mormon actually made the music for me. He has a lot of software on his computer that I use when I DJ and he’s the one who made my walk-up music for me. The real advanced CD players can do about anything.”
With all the varieties of music today, Anderson sticks to the latest hip-hop and R&B.
“That, techno music and all the new stuff that comes out,” he said. “I’ve been doing it since my senior year in high school. All my friends in high school were always into music. I just kind of picked up on it.”
Whether it has to do with his walk-up music or pure talent, everything appears to be clicking for Anderson at the plate in 2003. Most recently, Anderson almost single-handedly won the game for the Buckeyes against Iowa as he went 3-for-6 with five RBI’s, including a three-RBI triple to start the comeback in the seventh and a walk-off game-winning two-run homer in 10th.
He leads the team in almost every offensive category. Going into Wednesday night’s game vs. Wooster, he was second on the team in batting average and home runs and led the team in at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, slugging percentage and stolen bases. Anderson owes a majority of his success to his growth and experience this summer with the Quincy Gems of the Central Illinois Collegiate League where he earned all-star honors and garnered the Mike Schmidt MVP Award after winning the league batting title with a .352 average.
“I played against a lot of good competition and gained a lot of valuable experience,” Anderson said. “Getting to know all the players and the coaches and getting a chance to play in the all-star game was pretty special.”
