Another city, another team, another one-year deal, another chance for us all wonder what might have been.
Remember 2016? Of course, you do! He was just "Gary." He arrived in July, amid a wave of youth - Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin, Brigadoon Refsnyder - that chased A-Rod into retirement, and roused the fan base into actually believing in the future. A team left for dead made a late run, finishing six over .500, and nearly qualified for the postseason.
That year, Gary hit 20 HRs in 53 games, batted .299 and showed off a gun behind the plate. Then, in 2017, he belted 33 HRs, wowed the HR derby and had us thinking of the the next Dickey, the next Yogi, the next Thurman, the next Georgie - the next all-star catcher who would frame a resurgence for years to come.
Today, in Milwaukee, he sports a lifetime batting average of .225, a career achiever in passed balls (third on the list of active players), the man known for some of the least hustling moments in Yankee history (remember the guy scoring from second on a wild pitch?) and the ignominy of being traded for Josh Donaldson.
I know what you're thinking: There must be a moral here, right? It's "Don't fall for the cabana boy, Mrs. Falwell." Right? If we knew then what we know now, they Yankees could have traded Gary for who knows what? But I can't even blame Cooperstown Cashman. We thought we had a life one.
Or maybe here is a moral: Don't make a 16-year-old a multimillionaire, because he'll never understand hunger.
Every great Yankee period has begotten a great catcher. This year, the team will break out Austin Wells, a LH with power, though his defense remains questionable. He'll vie with Jose Trevino, a defensive catcher who doesn't hit much. After that, there is no celebrated stud rising in the farm system.
In December, the Yankees protected two young catchers on their 40 man roster. Carlos Narvaez is 25 and looks more like a lug nut than a star. Augustin Ramirez is 22, and last year hit .271 over three levels, finishing in Double A. A third guy, Ben Rice, 24, hit .324 with 20 HRs over three levels, but he might end up at 1B.
And Gary is still going. Another team, another uniform, another manager, another chance to think of what might've been.
ReplyDelete$7MM for a career .225 hitter who doubles as a defensive liability? Gary's agent certainly did a good job.
I second that, LBJ. Seven million? How the fuck did the Twinks go for that?
ReplyDeleteSanchez really gives the lie to WAR. A career 14.9! Wow! How the fuck did they arrive at that?
Are the first two years really still carrying him that far?
To be fair, last year he had 47 RBI in 240 AB. That's a pretty good ratio. And 19 HR. Not exactly great, but serviceable.
"Serviceable" in my book does not equate to seven mil. This one's a real head-scratcher.
And just to non-exonerate Cashman and heap some blame on Girardi--when the Baby Bombers came up because of all the injuries to our "stars," we caught fire. We were doing great. Then the stars started to come off the IL. And what happened? The babies were mostly replaced for the stretch run. And we stumbled, bumbled, and otherwise sucked in comparison and didn't make the postseason.
Fucking Yankees.
Don’t concern yourself with the past.
ReplyDeleteThis team has a .500 season set in its sights!
Also, Ben Rice.
Agreed, guys. This puts the lie to all the MLB complaints about salary. How can you possibly NOT have a catcher in your system capable to turning in the season that Gary Sanchez is likely to give you?
ReplyDeleteIs it that everyone is so confident that their coaches and instructors can "fix" the next $7-million dud?
And yes, as JM mentions, we're back to "WAR...what is it good for?"
ReplyDeleteWell, if not "absolutely nothing," the stat certainly needs a second look.
Sanchez has almost never had a negative OWAR or DWAR. Even in the truncated, 2020 Covid year, when he hit .147 in 49 games, Gary had a 0.0 OWAR. Funny, I don't remember every catcher in the AL hitting .147. ALSO, at catcher the Yanks ranked 11th in the AL that season. So...you rank 11th out of 15 teams, but there is nobody who can replace you and make it better?
I know, I know. I'm forgetting slugging, and on-base pct. Gary in 2020 did hit 10 HR in those 49 games—and all of 4 doubles and no triples. He also drew 18 walks—against 64 strikeouts. Somehow, I think the Yankees could have done better.
The story of ICS would be much sadder, except that the big galoot is going to make 7 very large piles of dough this year. Good for him.
ReplyDeleteAnd good for us. We don't have to see him play every day.
Always a team dumb enough!
ReplyDelete