Gary Sanchez makes history again with second straight Player of the Week award
By Roje Smith
New York Yankees super-rookie Gary Sanchez continues to put the world on notice by winning his second straight AL Player of the Week award.
The New York Yankees are in a rebuilding mode, but it looks like they won’t have to wait long before they’re dominant again. One of the main reasons for this is rookie sensation Gary Sanchez. The 23-year-old Dominican catcher is making history with each well-timed swing from his bat.
Sanchez’s first historic moment came when he hit his 11th home run over 22 games. The feat made him the fastest player in MLB history to do so. He also became the first player to hit 10-plus HRs and collect 30-plus hits in his first 22 games. Additionally, he batted .406 with an .893 slugging percentage and 21 RBI during that span. This earned him the nickname of “The Great Sanbino.”
Sanchez continued to make history on Monday as he was named the American League Player of the Week. He earned the award for hitting five HRs with nine RBIs and a .522 average last week and this is the second week in a row that he’s won the award. It also marks the first time that the achievement was accomplished by a rookie.
Will the Great Sanbino be able to keep it up?
Gary’s historic pace will remind Yankees fans of other amazing debuts. One of them was Shane Spencer in their 1998 championship season. He was called up in September of that year and became the first rookie to hit three grand slams. He also ended that season with seven HRs in nine games while batting .373.
Another historic debut by a “Bronx Bomber” came from Kevin Maas back in 1990. He hit 10 HRs in his first 77 at-bats which set a rookie record. He finished the season with 21 HRs and 79 RBIs. Unfortunately, Maas never reached the high expectations from his debut. Pitchers adjusted to his swing and he was never able to respond.
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Sanchez’s torrid pace, like the one of Kevin Maas, is clearly unsustainable. Pitchers will study film on him and make the necessary adjustments. At the very least, he may get walked a bit more in order to cool off his hot bat. However, until that happens, we should all enjoy history being made by the Great Sanbino.