Yanks slugger Sanchez still has much to prove
the lefty-hitting veteran to Houston for two more pitching prospects, and Sanchez is now a leading candidate to bat No. 3 on a club that still expects to compete for a postseason berth.
“The goal is to stay healthy throughout the entire season and to make the playoffs,” Sanchez said, adding that he incorporated more video into his winter “to work on improving my flaws.”
Sanchez batted .069 (2-for-29) with 12 strikeouts in his final eight games last season, perhaps some measure of AL pitchers making adjustments and the fatigue of a long season catching up to him.
“Those are some of the things that he’s going to have to learn because he will have to make adjustments,” said manager Joe Girardi. “Teams will adjust to him, but he’s a special talent.”
Sanchez insisted that he hadn’t tired at season’s end.
“I felt good at the end of the season, I felt fine physically, mentally,” Sanchez said. “But once the season is over, you kind of want to step back and relax. So, for three weeks I just kind of relaxed and after that you get ready to go again.”
Sanchez said last spring’s poor showing wasn’t because of pressuring himself to perform. But he is working toward starting “on the right foot” this time and getting “the right results.”
It’s just that his 2016 results make for a tough encore performance.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Sanchez’s late-season power show was so historic that Babe Ruth and Roger Maris were the only other Yankees to hit at least 20 homers from Aug. 10 to the end of a season.
Sanchez captured consecutive AL Player of the Week awards and was both the AL’s Player and Rookie of the Month for August. So, what’s next?
“I think it’s just to improve his overall game,” Girardi said. “It’s becoming more consistent on an everyday basis, and understanding the grind that it is up here.”