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Sanchez bolsters ROY case with historic 20th HR

Adam Hunger / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

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)

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