LONDON — Gary Sanchez said hard work is what made him the AL’s starting All-Star catcher this season after the nightmare that was 2018.
“It shows the results of the hard work I put in last season and going back to last offseason,’’ Sanchez said Friday after a workout at London Stadium ahead of Saturday’s game against the Red Sox. “It tells me the bad year, last year, is behind me. I am happy about it.’’
Sanchez, who will be joined in Cleveland on July 9 by teammate DJ LeMahieu, who was voted as the AL’s starting second baseman, has made a drastic improvement in all areas.
After leading AL catchers with 18 passed balls last season, he has five this year. He was behind the plate for 45 wild pitches a year ago and has 15 this season. After hitting a putrid .186 last season with 18 homers, 53 RBIs and a .697 OPS in 89 games, Sanchez leads all catchers in homers (23) and RBIs (52). His .939 OPS is second, and he is hitting .266 in 60 games.
When LeMahieu was signed as a free agent for two years and $24 million, he was viewed as an infielder who could play second, third and shortstop, but he didn’t have as starting job when the season opened. After Troy Tulowitzki lasted just five games, however, Gleyber Torres was shifted from second to short and LeMahieu moved to second. He has played third and a little bit of first.
“It wasn’t the first thing on my mind,’’ LeMahieu said of making his third career All-Star appearance. “I wanted to establish myself and help out our team.’’
LeMahieu has an AL-leading .336 batting average.
When the reserves are announced Sunday evening, Sanchez and LeMahieu could be joined by other Yankees. First baseman Luke Voit and right fielder Aaron Judge finished in the top three in voting. Closer Aroldis Chapman’s 23 saves in 25 chances lead the AL and are third among all relievers.
Judge said he was happy for Sanchez and LeMahieu.
“I’m excited for [Sanchez]. This is a guy I said from the very beginning, from when he first got called up, he has the capability to be an MVP for not only one year but multiple years. We’re starting to see what he’s capable of this year.
“Last year I know he was banged up with the shoulder injury. Fought through that all year and battled for us. He wore it a lot for us that past year,’’ Judge added. “But this year, he’s coming out, he’s healthy, he’s strong, especially when we went down early with a lot of injuries, he stepped up. DJ LeMahieu as well, huge acquisition for us, come over and be another MVP for us. Same as Voit. We’ve got a couple other guys who weren’t voted in as starters, but we’ve got quite a few guys who deserve to be on that All-Star team. I’m just happy for what they’ve done for us and put us in this position.’’
— Additional reporting by Ken Davidoff
