Varney Anderson

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name =Varney Anderson

|image=Varney Anderson pitcher.jpg

|caption=Varney Anderson, photographed by C. M. Bell Studio

| alt =

| position =Pitcher

| positionplain =

| birth_date ={{birth date|1866|6|18}}

| birth_place =Geneva, Illinois

| death_date ={{death date and age|1941|11|5|1866|6|18}}

| death_place =Rockford, Illinois

| bats =Right

| throws =Right

|debutleague = MLB

| debutdate =August 1

| debutyear =1889

| debutteam =Indianapolis Hoosiers

|finalleague = MLB

| finaldate =May 6

| finalyear =1896

| finalteam =Washington Senators

|statleague = MLB

| stat1label =Win–loss record

| stat1value =9-20

| stat2label =Earned run average

| stat2value =6.16

| stat3label =Strikeouts

| stat3value =41

| teams =

Indianapolis Hoosiers ({{mlby|1889}})
Washington Senators ({{mlby|1894}}–{{mlby|1896}})

}}

Varney Samuel "Varn" Anderson ({{birth date|1866|6|18}} – {{death date|1941|11|5}}) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Indianapolis Hoosiers and the Washington Senators.

Professional career

=Early minor league years=

Anderson played professionally at least as early as 1887 for the minor league Milwaukee Brewers. He split the {{baseball year|1888}} season between the Minneapolis Millers and St. Paul Apostles of the Western Association.

=Indianapolis Hoosiers=

At the age of 23 years Anderson broke into the major leagues with the Indianapolis Hoosiers. In just one season, {{mlby|1889}}, Anderson pitched just two games going 0–1 with three strikeouts with a 4.50 ERA in 12 innings pitched.{{Cite web |title=1889 Indianapolis Hoosiers Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/IND/1889.shtml |access-date=December 1, 2023 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

=Washington Senators=

In {{mlby|1890}} Anderson played and managed the non-affiliated Burlington Hawkeyes. For the next three seasons there is no record of Anderson playing for any major league or minor league team. He finally joined the Washington Senators where in his first year, {{mlby|1894}}, Anderson went 0–2 with three strikeouts and a 7.07 ERA in 14 innings pitched.{{Cite web |title=1894 Washington Senators Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WHS/1894.shtml |access-date=December 1, 2023 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

The next season, {{mlby|1895}}, Anderson was used considerably more. He was primarily a starting pitcher but did make a few relief appearances. In 29 games, 25 starts, Anderson went 9–16 with 35 strikeouts, 18 complete games and a 5.86 ERA in 204{{frac|2|3}} innings pitched.{{Cite web |title=1895 Washington Senators Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WHS/1895.shtml |access-date=December 1, 2023 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

His final season with the Senators was in {{mlby|1896}}. Anderson went 0–1 with a 13.00 ERA in only two games with nine innings pitched.{{Cite web |title=1896 Washington Senators Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WHS/1896.shtml |access-date=December 1, 2023 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

Anderson continued playing in the minors in {{mlby|1897}} and {{baseball year|1899}} in Rockford, Illinois, and in {{baseball year|1898}} for the Rock Island based in St. Joseph, Missouri.

File:Varney Anderson.jpeg

File:Varney Anderson - Washington Senators.jpg

File:Varney Anderson - Pitcher.jpg

File:Varney Samuel "Varn" Anderson, Pitcher, St. Paul Apostles, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes MET DP846353.jpg|alt=Standing man in baseball uniform throwing ball|Varney Anderson, 1888