By hitting his 10th homer on Friday, all of which have come in August, Sanchez broke the Yankee rookie record for homers in a calendar month. The previous mark of nine was set by Joe DiMaggio in August 1936 and later tied by Tom Tresh in August 1962.
He became the third-fastest player in MLB history to reach 10 homers, behind only Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (21 games earlier this year) and Red Sox infielder George Scott (21 games in 1966)
The three-hit, four-RBI performance also pushed his career totals in those stats to 31 and 20, respectively. The only Yankee to reach 30 career hits faster than Sanchez was Joe DiMaggio (16[!] games in 1936); the only Yankees to reach 20 career RBI faster than Sanchez were Hideki Matsui (20 games in 2003) and DiMaggio (21).
Where Sanchez truly stands alone in baseball history is his unique combination of elite hit and power tools: He is the first player in major-league history to compile at least 10 homers and 30 hits this early into his career (22nd game).
Not to mention his rifle arm behind the plate, a great pitch framer as well, calls a great game and has his staff raving about him.
Is this the birth of another Yankee Legend?
Here is his ranking among all rookies. Look at the difference in games played.
Here is his ranking among all catchers. Look at his games played.
Just a ridiculous start to the season. He can't maintain it, no one can. But it sure is fun to watch this type of hot streak.
I think he will pretty clearly be the better defensive catcher, and he's got more power than Po. It remains to be seen if he can develop the excellent plate discipline Posada had, though.
Speaking of The Natural, informal poll: which ending did you prefer, the book or the movie?
They haven't found it in Mike Trout yet.
Speaking of The Natural, informal poll: which ending did you prefer, the book or the movie?
Hard to mix becuase the book was completely different. The Roy Hobbs character much much darker, flawed, generally a nasty self-centered jerk. Iris was a broad he shacked up, not his hometown sweetheart. I don't think the bok ending would have worked in the movie.
Loved the book though.
Agree with GiantFilthy
Kevin Maas, Joe Lefebvre?
How about Benny Agbayani, "the greatest hitter there ever was?" Batted .429 in his first twenty or so games in 1997.
For a guy on an absurd power streak like this, his K% is very reasonable. He isn't just hacking away out there.
A Catcher is never going to maintain close to a .400 BABIP like Sanchez is, but the fact that his ISO is actually higher than his BABIP indicates that this isn't "absurdly-dependent" on luck. The reason his BABIP is high is because when he hits it, he hits it extremely hard as seen by the ISO. I also remember reading an article that said the Exit Velocity on his balls in play were Top 5 in the league among those with the required Plate Appearances, so this isn't some lucky BABIP stretch he's having.