How Angels' Tyler Anderson channeled his 'controlled rage' into success on mound

ARLINGTON, Texas — It was a party on the mound this spring. Or at least, that’s what the 5-year-old daughter of Tyler Anderson thought when she went to watch her father make a start out in Arizona. Anderson is a 10-year MLB veteran, a perfectionist on the mound.

A cerebral personality, at least four out of every five days. Advertisement But don’t let the sub-90 miles per hour fastball fool you. On his start days, he’s nonetheless one of the most intense pitchers the game has to offer.



Ultimately, it was not, in fact, a party that day. Instead, Anderson said it was a form of the “controlled rage” that defines his presence on the mound. The loud utterance of a profanity, borne from frustration, serves the purpose of centering Anderson.

He doesn’t remember exactly what word he was yelling that day, but he can be thankful that his daughter was none the wiser about whatever it was. “She told my wife that I was yelling ‘party’ on the mound,” Anderson said with a chuckle. “I definitely wasn’t yelling ‘party.

’” Anderson, 35, is a two-time All-Star who has pitched in three different postseasons. He’ll record the milestone decade of service time later this summer — a difficult feat for any player, let alone one who has signed multiple one-year deals. He’s reached that level, not by throwing the ball hard.

Anderson’s fastball averages just 87.4 mph, only a tick down from what it was throughout his late-20s. The left-hander has sustained his career by being hard on himself.

By channeling his intensity in ways that can be audible, but also effective. A reflection of the heavy weight he feels to perform not just well, but the best he can. “He’s a consummate competitor,” said manager Ron Washington.

“The way he goes out there, he’s leaving everything he has out there. That’s just his makeup. That’s not a makeup that he all of a sudden got.

It’s who he is. And I love him.” Off the field, Anderson is not dropping F-bombs left and right.

Nor is he the type to yell. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. He’s calm, quiet and very matter-of-fact.

Ask him a question, and he’ll answer it literally. If he performs poorly, he’ll say so without much sugarcoating. Advertisement But for one day a week, his start day, Anderson transforms.

He’s tried to become more approachable on his start days. He’s told himself to try and have conversations with teammates, staff, whoever. The fact that he’s pitching that day, he said, shouldn’t mean he has to shut everyone out.

At least in an ideal world. “No matter how much I try, I really don’t want to talk to guys that day,” Anderson said. “You have one thing on your mind that you want to get done the whole day.

You have one thing on your mind that whole day. Until that’s over, I don’t want to waste energy on anything else. “I’ve tried to have fun.

I’ll get here and I’ll talk to guys, but I can’t talk. Like, I don’t want to. I just feel like I’m on edge that day.

” So it stands to reason — when it matters so much — that when there’s even the slightest failure, in a game defined by it, the result can be an audible curse word, sometimes on the team’s telecasts. That emotion can even accompany positive results. A swing-and-miss or weak contact is almost worthless, in his mind, if the pitch didn’t do exactly what he intended for it.

After he exits games, Anderson needs several hours to come down. His post-pitch nights are often spent lying awake, replaying parts of the game. “My thing is try to control everything until the ball leaves my hand, which means my preparation,” Anderson said, stating he wants to know everything about each hitter’s tendencies before the game.

“Then being in control of your delivery. Then if it goes where I want it to, I did what I was supposed to do.” There’s little daylight between how Anderson approaches bullpens and actual games.

While Anderson said his fastball rarely goes above 84 mph in bullpens, the need to perform well in those low-stakes environments is of consequence. Because, for Anderson — someone who requires a perfect process to be even a good big league pitcher — the stakes are not low. This matters as much as anything.

Advertisement “It’s just an instinct,” Anderson said. “I’ve tried focusing on not (yelling on the mound) sometimes, and it gets worse.” Anderson’s battery mate, Logan O’Hoppe, said he’s learned a lot about Anderson’s process.

There are times he wants to let it out, too. More often than he’s willing to show. After all, there is something cathartic about letting it all out.

Something positive about ridding yourself of the frustration after a pitch, to leave it in the past. “I think it’s a reflection of being an intense competitor,” O’Hoppe said. “I’ve always looked up to (Anderson) because he’s always himself.

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He’s businesslike and methodical. By no means is he ever a hothead.” 6 Ks and a nice day for Tyler A 🫡 5.

2 IP | 1 H | 0 ER | 4 BB | 6 K pic.twitter.com/XlUr4XsZbG — Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) April 13, 2025 It’s important for Anderson to be proactive about not letting those emotions spiral.

When he was a kid, that anger wasn’t channeled positively. Even as recently as 2023, his first and worst year with the Angels, Anderson said he was too focused on adding velocity and perfecting the shape of his changeup. He ended the season with a 5.

43 ERA over 27 games. It was a very difficult year. Last year, he was more in control.

More focused on short-term execution of his pitches, rather than adding big-picture upgrades to his game. The result was far better — a 3.81 ERA over 31 starts.

A trend that’s continued over his first three outings this year. When he’s pitching consistently well, he said, the emotional moments are fewer and farther between. And for Anderson, on its face, there hasn’t been much reason to be angry.

He’s pitched well. But in reality, it’s not about whether he should be happy or mad. It’s about who Anderson is on the mound.

And the controlled, but undeniable rage that has kept him in the big leagues for all these years. “I really care a lot. I just care so much,” Anderson said.

“You spend the whole offseason working out. All your preparation. “You do all this work.

And you want to make sure that it’s worth something.” (Top photo: Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images).