Skip to content

Judge says Sanchez can win AL MVP: 'Gary is going to have a special year'

Icon Sportswire / Getty

Gary Sanchez is off to a torrid start for the New York Yankees during spring training, and Aaron Judge thinks the catcher's success will carry over to the regular season.

"I'm looking forward to it. ... Gary is going to have a special year this year," Judge said, courtesy of Yankees Videos. "The changes I've seen him make. The improvements on both sides of the baseball. Gary is a guy that can go out there and win an AL MVP."

Sanchez is hitting .333 with two homers in five games - one of which was a mammoth blast that cleared the 40-foot center-field batter's eye at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

The 28-year-old backstop is looking to rebound from a disastrous 2020 campaign that saw him hit .147 with 64 strikeouts in 49 games while playing questionable defense.

The Yankees also benched Sanchez during the playoffs last season, sparking trade rumors after the Dominican catcher said the team never told him why he lost the starting job to Kyle Higashioka.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox