Josh Anderson’s roots have nurtured his development

Who among the Braves might have had the most old-fashioned upbringing? Center fielder Josh Anderson and his Kentucky roots give a clue. Find out where he got his speed, his humble nature and his winter hobby.

Q. So where are you from in Kentucky?

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Rich Addicks/raddicks@ajc.com

Josh Anderson hit a solid .314 for the Braves’ Triple A club last season. The speedy outfielder stole 42 bases in 49 attempts.

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A. Eubank, Kentucky. Population 400. The place we all go to the grocery or eat dinner is Summerset, which is about 15 minutes south of Eubank. Eubank is pretty simple. There are not many restaurants. There’s one caution light, a bank, a post office, and a lot of farmland.

Q. What does your family farm?

A. We’re registered Limousin beef cattle. Twin Oaks Farms. My dad, my brother and I — we operate about 150 acres. We’ve got about 80 head of beef cattle.

Q. Did you think growing up you’d be a farmer?

A. Growing up my parents worked. Farming is something we’ve done as a hobby. It becomes a lot of work, but my brother and my dad don’t do it full-time, but it seems like we do. They work during the day and at night and on the weekends, we farm.

Q. Are you out there on a tractor?

A. I ride the tractor a lot in the winter time, moving hay around, disking fields, dragging fields, putting seed down.

Q. Did you develop your speed running around the farm?

A. I always credit my speed to my older brother and my older cousin who beat up on me, and I was always the last one picked. I had to be fast to run away from them when we were playing. … Playing basketball, I had to be quick or my shots would get blocked.

Q. Did you dream of playing basketball for Kentucky?

A. I’d be in the backyard announcing the game as I was shooting, pretending I was a UK player and the clock was running down and I picture shooting that game-winner out in the backyard.

Q. But baseball won out?

A. I played both as a kid. As time went on, I played as much baseball as I did basketball. If we weren’t playing basketball, we were playing Wiffle ball in the back yard. Home run derby. We used to have the plastic helmets we’d wear, and we’d cut starting lineups out of the newspaper. If my brother was the Reds, I’d be the Braves. If he was the Orioles, I’d be the A’s. We’d be each hitter and try to mock their batting stance.

Q. What’s the best thing about growing up in a small town?

A. The freedom you have to go outside, to go fishing, to ride four-wheelers, to play Wiffle ball in the backyard, being out in the country where you don’t have to worry about your neighbors. … Plus you learn as a young kid how to work, respect the dollar. I used to work in a tobacco patch when I was a teenager for $5 an hour for my uncle. My parents taught me and my brother hard work and how to respect other people, to appreciate what we have.

Q. So you could dunk a basketball?

A. Yeah, my dad could dunk in high school. He was well known in my hometown as one of the best jumpers ever. He’s a little shorter than me and I still hear stories about him when I go home. I’m about 6-1. I got my jumping ability from him. I started dunking as a sophomore in high school in warm-ups, started throwing them off the backboard and dunking them. Ever since then, I started dunking in games, then I won a dunk contest as a senior.

Q. What was your welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment?

A. My first game when I walked into Wrigley Field in 2007 with the Astros. I walked through that tunnel and saw that ivy and it was just like you’d seen it on TV but it’s never the same until you see it in person. You’re here.