New York Yankees: Will the real Gary Sanchez please stand up?

New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez
Oct 17, 2019; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (24) runs the bases after hitting a home run against the Houston Astros during the sixth inning of game four of the 2019 ALCS playoff baseball series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Hard to believe that this season will mark four years since New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez burst onto scene during the second half of the 2016 season. Sanchez had a historic run in just 53 games where he hit 20 HRs, drove in 42 runs and had a line of .299/.376/.657 (Baseball Reference). He was so good that he still finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting despite playing in less than a third of the entire season. In his first full season where he played 122 games in 2017, Sanchez batted .278, hit 33 HRs, and had 90 RBIs. If it wasn’t for injuries, Sanchez would have had a 40/100 season for the Yankees. His defense needed some work, but he was a bad man when it came to his ability to hit the baseball.

A 2018 To Forget

Since the start of the 2018 season, Gary Sanchez has left a lot to be desired. He had a horrific injury plagued season in 2018 where his line was .186/.291/.406. Sanchez also came under fire in 2018 for his lack of hustle and just appearing to not care. To me, he just appeared to be a player that was going through the motions and he lost all the confidence that he was brimming with back in 2016/2017. His defense regressed having two more passed balls in 25 fewer games caught than the previous season. Fans became frustrated and were losing hope for Sanchez by the time of the 2018 playoffs. That October, Sanchez was able to hit two big home runs and he appeared to look more like himself at the plate. While his postseason average still wasn’t great, his approach gave the Yankee faithful some hope going into 2019, and 2019 definitely saw some improvements from the all star catcher.

A 2019 To Build On

While Sanchez still isn’t peaking, you can definitely see the improvement by watching him in 2019. In 106 games, Sanchez hit 34 HRs, drove in 77 runs, and slashed .232/316/.525. He looked better physically to me and in 12 more games started at catcher compared to 2018, Sanchez had 11 fewer passed balls. You could tell that he put a lot of work in to improve his glove. While Sanchez has yet to show that he is a durable player, he has shown the fire to work hard to improve his weakest areas. You could see flashes last year of the Gary Sanchez that we all saw in 2016, but the consistency just wasn’t there and it really showed in October. After having a decent season at the dish, Sanchez had an abysmal playoff run at the plate. During the ALCS that saw the Yankees lose to the Astros in six games, Sanchez went 3 for 23 while striking out 12 times. Again, Yankees fans were left frustrated and wondering who is the real Gary Sanchez?

The Time is Now

The potential is obviously there and for years now we’ve heard how he’s the best hitter the Yankees have when he’s on. However, we have yet to see Sanchez put everything together into one complete season. As a fan, I want to see at least 120 games caught by Gary Sanchez is 2020. I want to see Sanchez prove that he is more durable, and prove that he’s a better hitter than someone who has an average sitting in the low 200s. 2020 is the best chance the Yankees have had at winning a World Series in a long time, and Gary Sanchez is a key part of that. He needs to show that he can be durable. He needs to show continuous improvement behind the plate like he did in 2019, and he needs to show that he can be a consistent hitter who is going to hit you 35-40 HRs and drive in close to 100 runs. The time for waiting is over, the real Gary Sanchez needs to step-up for the Yankees to reach their ultimate goal in 2020.