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Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Anthony Banda was a career 5.69 ERA pitcher before his first season with LA in 2024. At just 30 years old, the southpaw was seriously considering retirement.
Banda spoke on the Most Valuable Agent podcast with Matt Hannaford about his journey to not only getting back to the mound, but doing so at a high level, especially come October.
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“As the (2023-24) offseason went, I was like, ‘Man I don’t know if I want to do this again. I really don’t’” Banda said. “It was to a point where I was talking about hanging ‘em up.”
Banda described his struggles and inability to get major league hitters out.
“I’m going out there, getting my stuff absolutely pieced up. This isn’t fun. I’m not enjoying striking people out,” Banda said. “I might as well just grab the ball, turn around, throw it to the wall, and tell the guy to go run. That’s how it felt. This is embarrassing. What value do I bring to the game if I continue doing this? What value do I bring to myself if I continue doing this, in the sense of happiness, achievements?”
As the team barber during his extensive time in the minor leagues, Banda found inspiration from an unlikely source.
“I remember I was watching YouTube videos, like, I always have this ASMR theme with haircuts. I love haircuts. I love cutting hair. On YouTube, I was watching these people turn a van into like a camping van, or like a mini-house. It was so intriguing. It wasn’t the finished product that was intriguing to me. It was more the process of it. I found actual enjoyment of that. I was like … ‘If I can find enjoyment out of this, I know I can find enjoyment out of baseball.”
Banda’s agent invited scouts from different organizations to watch him pitch, and ended up on the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple-A squad, signing a two-way contract with an upward mobility clause. After Cleveland decided not to put him on their major league roster, despite a 2.12 ERA across 17 innings of work, the Dodgers picked him up.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Banda was solid during his first 48 regular season outings as a Dodger — totaling a 3.08 ERA — but it was in October where he shined brightest.
During 10 postseason appearances, Banda had a 1.12 ERA. During four World Series appearances, the southpaw allowed just two hits with no earned runs.
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Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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