Aaron Judge believes health is key to bounce-back season for Yankees teammate Gary Sanchez
CLEVELAND — Don’t use the word “surprise” when talking about Gary Sanchez’s rebound 2019 season that has him starting at catcher for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Progressive Field.
“This is no surprise to me,” Aaron Judge said. “Happy for him? I just knew it was going to happen. I wasn’t even really worried about what happened last year.”
Last year was a forgettable one for Sanchez, who in addition to having a lousy year on defense was as bad at the plate. Sanchez, who had two separate stints on the disabled list because of a right groin strain, produced a .186/.291/.406 slash line, 18 homers and 53 RBIs. He also battled a left shoulder issue much of the season that required offseason surgery.
While Sanchez never used his injuries as an excuse, the 26-year-old said early in spring training this year that if he stayed relatively healthy the results would be there. And though he ended the first half in a 6-for-51 slide, Sanchez has hit 24 homers (second on the Yankees to the 25 hit by Edwin Encarnacion, a June trade addition) and driven in 57 runs, second-most behind DJ LeMahieu.
“He’s healthy, that’s the biggest thing,” Judge said. “People didn’t know he was playing with one shoulder for the whole year. People don’t understand that. I’ve been through shoulder surgery [after the 2017 season] and how a shoulder feels when you’re trying to swing with one arm. You have to commit earlier, you get off your plan, you’re trying to just basically battle and get that one hit when you’re grinding like that. To see him healthy and seeing him do his thing, I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Sanchez’s defense, rightly in the spotlight the last two seasons after leading the majors in passed balls, has drawn compliments for its improvement from opposing team scouts. Sanchez came into the break with five passed balls (he had 16 in 2017 and 18 in 2018).
“I’ve admired how much work he’s done and where he’s gone from,” backup catcher Austin Romine said. “He’s worked hard, so it’s nice to see him getting results and doing well.”
Romine has long been one of Sanchez’s biggest fans and LeMahieu is among the newest.
“He controls the running game by himself,” LeMahieu said. “[His arm is] the best I’ve seen from a catcher for sure. And then at the plate, he’s swings a really scary bat. For a catcher that gets beat up the way they do and to still produce offensively the way he does, that’s why he’s so special.”
Sanchez, as he said this spring, pointed out that it has been about health.
“That’s the one thing that’s important to me, health, because without it, things just don’t go as smoothly,” he said through his translator. “It’s been a good half, but I feel I can still improve, there are some things that I can do better. Not satisfied but it definitely felt good.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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