Maybe it’s a better story if the Padres saw this coming, if they somehow knew that the All-Star version of Gary Sanchez would be reincarnated upon his arrival. I have been the biggest Gary Sanchez defender since he burst onto the scene in his 2016/2017 seasons with the New York Yankees.
2018 is when the fans turned on Gary and began calling him a "flash in the pan", "fat and slow", and worst of all "a liability defensively". Could some of those things be true, perhaps. Did Gary hit .186, and allow a ton of passed balls defensively, yes. But what he lacks in defensively prowess, he makes up for by hitting absolute moonshots, and having a rocket arm behind the dish.
Maybe it’s something in the San Diego air for Gary Sanchez. The catcher - who was dumped by the Yankees and Mets, Twins and Giants - hit his sixth home run in 13 games with the Padres on Tuesday. The three-run homer bumps him up to 15 RBI in 47 at-bats with his new team. The Padres claimed Sanchez off waivers after the Mets designated him for assignment last month. And, as his stats indicate, Sanchez has settled in nicely.
“Really, it’s all about the welcoming that I received from the coaches, the front office, my fellow teammates,” Sánchez said through Spanish interpreter Danny Sanchez, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “I do feel like I’ve played here for a long time.”
All the Padres could promise Sanchez was an opportunity. Turns out, that was all he needed.
Sánchez was at his home in Tampa when he got the phone call from his agent telling him he’d been claimed by the Padres. He joined the team in Miami the next day. In his first series with the club, he homered twice and went 4-for-11. Sanchez homered two more times on the ensuing homestand, then did so again in Colorado on Friday. In no time, he was the Padres’ primary catcher and a force in the middle of their lineup. He sports a .981 OPS through 13 games, and it’s already hard to imagine this lineup without him.
“When he came over here, everybody embraced him,” said Fernando Tatis Jr., who also homered on Tuesday. “He legit had a chance over here. … I mean, everybody knows what he’s capable of.”
It's nice to see Gary back in the mix, especially in a line up with a ton of firepower out in Slam Diego. And to all the haters and losers to which there are many of, don't weight shame Gary, it's mean.