It’s hard to imagine the bar being set any higher for Yankees rookie Gary Sanchez in 2017, but luckily for him, the daunting pressures and expectations seemed to have already phased.
According to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com, the 24-year-old catcher hasn’t spent time reflecting on the expectations beset on him, and is instead devising a plan to help him match–or even surpass–his enigmatic statistics from this past summer.
“I don’t pay attention too much to those expectations,” Sanchez said, via Francis Marquez, his Magnus Sports agent and occasional translator at Roosevelt Field Mall on Saturday. “I’m just focused on working hard in the offseason to be prepared and to be able to help the team in a 162-game season.”
While improving on his craft, Sanchez wants to report to spring training in better physical shape than he was last winter, understanding that the workload of a starting catcher comes with constant wear and tear.
“He said he’s going to work on every aspect of his game because the fact that he did well for two months doesn’t mean that he can just rest on his laurels,” Marquez said. “He said he wants to physically get into camp in really good shape and be prepared to catch a full season, which he’s never caught a full season in the major leagues.”
After being called up by the Yankees on Aug. 3, Sanchez took New York by storm, finishing with a rookie record of 20 home runs and 42 RBI in only 53 games, while also placing himself in American League Rookie of the Year conversation.
Due to that performance, general manager Brian Cashman made it clear that the starting gig behind home plate is Sanchez’s to lose next spring, with Austin Romine or Kyle Higashioka expected to battle for the backup role. As for veteran Brian McCann, the Yankees may continue to explore the 32-year-old’s market, or anoint him as a full-time designated hitter until his contract expires in 2019.
“Gary Sanchez is our starting catcher next year,” Cashman said at his end-of-season press conference on Oct. 5. “That’s his position to lose. That doesn’t mean he can’t lose it. We saw [Luis] Severino last year helping us get to the postseason. This year, he struggled. We’re very excited about Gary, who always projected to be (a strong hitter).”
Training and preparation for next year’s campaign will begin in November, according to Sanchez, who doesn’t mind the bright lights and demanding tasks that await him.
“Expectations are great because it’s a result of what we did this year, which was very positive,” he said. “But I can’t get caught up in that.”
