Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Tim Anderson expanded on his comment in a recent SI.com story comparing himself to Jackie Robinson.

“I kind of feel like today’s Jackie Robinson,” he told the magazine. “That’s huge to say. But it’s cool, man, because he changed the game, and I feel like I’m getting to a point to where I need to change the game.”

Anderson said of the comparison before Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Orioles at Guaranteed Rate Field: “Just more so on the side of I’m trying to have fun — and they don’t want me to have fun. So I think it’s cool when you bring excitement to the game and you bring something different. I think I bring something different to the game, and that’s a lot of energy and a lot of excitement.”

Anderson’s bat flip to celebrate a home run during an April 17 game led to him getting plunked by the Royals’ Brad Keller in his next at-bat. That ignited a bench-clearing scrap during which Anderson reportedly used the N-word.

MLB suspended Anderson one game and Keller five, the equivalent of one start.

Anderson told SI.com that he should not have been suspended by MLB’s mostly white hierarchy: “That’s a word that’s in my vocabulary.”

Anderson is having a spectacular start to the season — .375, six homers, 18 RBIs — and is in line to win the American League Player of the Month.

Asked if he could be having a better month, Anderson replied: “I don’t want to put anything on it, but I’m going to keep having fun and not worry about those numbers or the player of the month. That’s small stuff. I’ve got bigger goals than that. I’m going to keep working and keep having fun and keep bringing a lot of spark to this ballclub.”

Among those bigger goals is to bring more fun and excitement to the game with his brash style. Robinson did that, too, along with being a pioneer and beacon for the civil rights movement, earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Anderson said he is unbothered by any pushback and reiterated his stance that the game needs more life.

“Yeah, I think it does, because the game is boring,” he said. “A lot of fans don’t watch, I’ll admit. So you try to do something to make these fans want to come back and make these kids want to come back to the ballpark. Yeah, I’m going to do whatever it takes to draw these fans to the South Side. I’m going to do something different every day. Whatever it is, it don’t matter.”

Reporters put manager Rick Renteria in a tricky spot before the game, asking him if he agrees that baseball is boring.

“Timmy is a high-energy guy and is going to continue to be himself,” Renteria said. “In terms of the game being boring, I don’t know. When I’m in the dugout in here, it’s kind of not boring. It moves pretty fast. When you are on television or up in the stands, it seems boring maybe to some people. It has its nuances that most baseball people understand.

“There’s a lot of excitement in the game, and I think that again you are trying to address a young man who is an emotional player. He does a lot of nice things between the lines. Great defender, runs the bases with excitement, has nice at-bats.

“He’s doing a lot of things a lot of people are happy about in terms of what he brings to the table.”

[email protected]

More Top Picks Best Tea Ceremony Sets For Beginners

Twitter @TeddyGreenstein