If something looked familiar when Red Sox followers started watching Chase Anderson pitch, it was for good reason.
That necklace Anderson wears when pitching. That was it. It was the same Phiten gear sported by the majority of those Red Sox teams - and much of major league baseball - for a stretch between about 2007-13.
"(Red Sox catcher) Reese McGuire gives me crap all the time. A bunch of the guys do," Anderson told WEEI.com. "It’s all in good fun. I’m old school with that stuff. If it’s not broke don’t fix. I’m trying to bring it back and put it back on the map."
As it turns out, the reason Anderson wears the titanium necklace - which former Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka once said would "keep the evil spirits away" - because of his first introduction to the Red Sox about 15 years ago.
"Honestly, I always loved watching the Red Sox growing up having the Texas boys on the team with Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz and John Lackey, even though he’s not from Texas, Jon Lester. I think all four of them wore the camo Phiten," Anderson explained. "The tornado one that is twisted that I wear. I know Beckett wore that one, and Buchholz and Lester did, too. It goes back to them that I got one because it was big when I was in college in 2008 and 2009. It was kind of big back then. I threw the Phiten necklace on in Low-A. I think I threw a complete game, seven-inning shutout in Low-A and I just never took it off after that game. I was like, alright, this thing has something in it and I have worn it since 2010."
When Anderson said he has worn it ever since that minor-league shutout he isn't kidding. The exact same necklace.
There was a bit of a hiccup in the routine this year, however, forcing the pitcher call an accessory audible.
"I lost it this spring training when we moved houses," he said. "But my mother-in-law found it the other day in one of my bags, one of the boxes of hats I had. She overnighted, I got it back and I got the old tornado Phiten back.
"I wear it every appearance, for the most part. I had a red and black one I had to wear the last couple of times I was out there. It was my backup because I couldn’t find the OG, if you will."
Phiten is still trucking along, with the same message and science in place. It's a look, feel and belief Anderson, for one, isn't ready to put in the rearview mirror yet. And it certainly doesn't hurt that he can now use the image as a tip of the hat to Red Sox players who came before him.
"All the Red Sox wore it. That’s where I first saw it," Anderson said. "They were cool looking and stylish, then they become part of your game. Then you watch a guy like Beckett, right-hander with a good curveball from Texas. He’s wearing a Phiten, so I’m like, ‘Let’s get one of those things.
"I have always worn the necklace. I like it. I like the way it looks. Maybe it’s a superstitious thing. Maybe it’s a routine thing. I just have always worn it and I like it. I feel comfortable wearing it. It went extinct for a little while, but I’m trying to keep it alive."
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