On the anniversary of Brady Anderson hitting a leadoff home run for a fourth consecutive game, Tim Kurkjian shares some stories about the former Orioles OF. (1:26)

You love baseball. Tim Kurkjian loves baseball. So while we await its return, every day we'll provide you with a story or two tied to this date in baseball history.

ON THIS DATE IN 1996, we said hello to The Brady Bunch

Orioles outfielder Brady Anderson hit a leadoff home run for a fourth consecutive game, a major league record. He would finish that season with 50 homers, more than any Oriole had ever hit, and 26 more than he would hit in any season of his 15-year career. During his leadoff home run barrage, I talked to him pregame at the bat rack at Oriole Park.

The full "On this date ..." archive

"The corked bats are in the bag over there,'' he said, laughing.

Anderson was fun to cover because you never knew what he might say -- or do.

Focus on Sport/Getty Images

In 1989, I told him that he was leading all leadoff hitters in slugging. He responded, "I floss more than any leadoff hitter.'' When he met O.J. Simpson for the first time (pre-O.J. trials), Anderson approached him on the running track at USC and said, "O.J., loved you in 'Towering Inferno.'''

When a radio talk show host in Baltimore said that he could throw better than Orioles outfielder Mike Devereaux, Anderson demanded that the radio guy go out to shallow to medium right field and make a throw to the plate. When the ball stopped rolling, it wasn't even close to reaching the plate.

"Don't you ever say you can throw better than a big league outfielder!'' Anderson said.

In July 1992, Anderson was having a tremendous season. He was seated at an outdoor restaurant in Baltimore after a game when he was approached during dinner by some young guy.

"He tells me while I am eating that he was a high school sprint champ in Pennsylvania, and he could blow my doors off whenever he wanted,'' Anderson said.

So, Anderson, in the middle of a season in which he was in the hunt for the American League MVP award, went into the restaurant parking lot, took off his shirt and raced this young guy three times, crushing him three times.

Brady Anderson was not a one-year wonder; he was a good player for most his career. He was wildly athletic, he had great power and great speed, and he was in unbelievable shape -- and he still is at age 56. But one season, he was hitting .178 in May, the worst start to a season in his career. He went out after a game with teammate Rene Gonzales. It was 1:30 a.m. They were driving way too fast on one-lane roads. It was raining, and Anderson finally looked at his friend and said, "Gonz, if I wasn't hitting .179, I'd ask you to slow down.''

Other baseball notes from April 21