- Player: Gary Sanchez
- Resolution: Continue to be “The Kraken”
There’s simply no overlooking it: Gary Sanchez made history in his first season in the Bronx.
In the month of August, the 23-year old slashed .389/.458/.832 with an OPS of 1.290 and 11 home runs en route to winning the American League Player Of The Month award.
Then, on September 21, Sanchez became the fastest player in baseball history (45 games) to reach the 18 home run mark and later tied Wally Berger as the fastest to reach 20.
Despite going just 23-for-102 (.225) in the final month of the year, expectations are sky-high for this kid as he enters his second season as people know: when he’s hot, he’s shown he can carry an offense and even a team.
Take Sept. 10- Aug. 10 for example.
In 27 games played Sanchez batted .373 and smashed 13 of his 20 home runs. During that span, the Yankees went 18-9 and jolted themselves back into relevancy.
It’s completely unfair to think that those numbers will carry through to 2017, but to see such a professional hitter with that kind of potential is ensuring that you have a superstar, to say the least.
Sanchez’s resolution is quite simple. Keep eating and don’t become a Kevin Maas 2.0.
