In Friday’s victory against the Minnesota Twins, Gary Sanchez of the New York Yankees stood out. Here’s how Gary entered a shortlist of players ever to do this.
Despite receiving more bad news when New York Yankees ace James Paxton exited Friday’s game in the 3rd inning after an apparent knee injury, another player gave the team something to cheer about. When Gary Sanchez hit his 2nd home run of the night, he became only the 4th player ever to hit a 118+ mph home run since StatCast was introduced in 2015.
This one was 118 MPH off the bat! It's the 12th career multi-homer game for #IAmGary!#YANKSonYES live stream: https://t.co/ejhcxoNC6r pic.twitter.com/qiDwwZwMy8
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) May 4, 2019
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
The three other hitters also play on New York teams. Two of them for the Yankees (Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge) and one for the New York Mets (Pete Alonso).
The accomplishments for El Gary, who managed to hit below the Mendoza Line in 2018, don’t end there either. According to stat guru Katie Sharp of River Ave Blues, Gary hit his 80th HR in 284 games, the third quickest to the feat. The only two hitters to do it quicker are Judge who did is 264 games and Ryan Howard who did it 245 games
In 18 games this season, Gary Sanchez already has 10 home runs, which ties him for with 7 other players for the 4th most in MLB. Gary, however, has done it in fewer games (18) by far.
What’s more, according to Ms. Sharp, in just 231 games as a catcher, Gary is inching closer to the Yankees record for most multi-HR games.
Gary Sanchez: 10th multi-HR game in 231 games As Catcher ...
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) May 4, 2019
Yankees Most Multi-HR Games as Catcher:
Jorge Posada - 16 (1574 G)
Yogi Berra - 15 (1694 G)
Bill Dickey - 15 (1708 G)
Gary Sanchez - 10 (231 G)
In a season where the New York Yankees have sustained an uncanny amount injuries, sidelining more than half of the key players on the squad, Sanchez’s bat has been a blessing. And while he only has 18 games under his belt this season, most experts, analysts, and fans already consider this the return of the Gary Sanchez.