Sanchez bolsters ROY case with historic 20th HR
David Ortiz, the retiring Boston Red Sox star who's spent most of his career as persona non grata in New York, wasn't able to get most Yankees fans out of their seats Tuesday for his first at-bat in his last ever series in the Bronx.
Gary Sanchez was, though.
In the bottom of the first inning at Yankee Stadium, Sanchez clobbered a two-run homer off David Price, giving him 20 homers for his young career, and making him, along with Wally Berger (1930), the fastest player ever to reach that plateau, getting there in just 51 big-league games.
Sanchez's blast carried another historical distinction, too, as it also made him the 10th catcher in history to record at least 20 homers in his rookie season. Of the other nine, four were named Rookie of the Year, and two - Mike Piazza and Carlton Fisk - are in the Hall of Fame.
Player | HR | Year | Age | G | OPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike Piazza* | 35 | 1993 | 24 | 149 | .932 |
Rudy York | 35 | 1937 | 23 | 104 | 1.026 |
Earl Williams* | 33 | 1971 | 22 | 145 | .815 |
Matt Nokes | 32 | 1987 | 23 | 135 | .880 |
Wilin Rosario | 28 | 2012 | 23 | 117 | .843 |
Joe Ferguson | 25 | 1973 | 26 | 136 | .839 |
J.P. Arencibia | 23 | 2011 | 25 | 129 | .720 |
Geovany Soto* | 23 | 2008 | 25 | 141 | .868 |
Carlton Fisk* | 22 | 1972 | 24 | 131 | .909 |
Gary Sanchez | 20 | 2016 | 23 | 49 | 1.078 |
*Rookie of the Year winner
(Video courtesy: MLB.com)