New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez is reminding us why he’s worth it
The future is bright
All of his improvement really shows how dominant a catcher Gary Sanchez can be when he puts in the effort. Much of the New York Yankees recent success can be credited to his dominant play both at the plate and behind it. The Bombers wouldn’t be leading the American League East without him.
Fans give Sanchez a really hard time when he struggles. Yes, he makes mistakes and errors. Keep in mind that this is only his third full season with the Yankees. Number 24 in pinstripes continues to make the necessary adjustments to his game. He’s improved since initially coming up to the Bigs to today and there’s still a long way to go. It’s safe to say that he’s quieted many of the haters with his play in 2019.
The Bombers have Sanchez locked up until 2023 which is plenty of time to hone his raw talent. If he keeps trending in this direction of consistent improvement, he will get paid handsomely when its time to negotiate a new contract.
In Sanchez, the Yankees have a catcher who has a 162 game average of 47 home runs and 117 RBIs. Even with his dismal 2018 season, Sanchez still has a career slash line of .254/.334/.532. Should his offense remain flat over his career a .886 OPS is top-80 all-time. That mark would be third, among catchers all-time behind only Mike Piazza (also not known for his defensive prowess) and Mickey Cochrane, ahead of Yankees legend Bill Dickey. All three of those players are in the Hall of Fame.
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Gary Sanchez is on his way to becoming the next Yankees catching great in the tradition of Dickey, Yogi Berra, Thurman Munson, and Jorge Posada.