Hector Sanchez Brings Underrated Value to the Giants
The San Francisco Giants have a problem on their hands. It’s not a bad problem. It’s actually a pretty good problem to have. The Giants are dealing with three major league-worthy catchers.
Buster Posey is quite possibly the best catcher in baseball. He’s a force in the middle of San Francisco’s lineup, and is an underrated defensive player. Andrew Susac, after an impressive rookie campaign in 2014, is one of the Giants’ top prospects, and among fans, is the overwhelming favorite to earn the job as Posey’s backup come Opening Day.
But that leaves Hector Sanchez, the owner of all those bruises, left wondering “what about me?”. Sanchez’s value to San Francisco seems to be underrated. But the fact of the matter is, Sanchez is an extremely vital piece for the Giants.
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Sanchez has taken on the duty of being Tim Lincecum‘s personal caddy, which is no easy feat. Lincecum makes a hefty case to be considered the most difficult pitcher to catch in baseball, as his breaking balls routinely bounce well in front of Sanchez’s glove, and he isn’t exactly a Rembrandt with his fastballs.
As a result, Sanchez takes an absolute beating when he dons the catcher’s gear. Foul ball after foul balls find its way into Sanchez’s gear, and although he is padded, those shots take their toll. That was evidenced in Sanchez’s 2014 season.
The baseball magnet in Sanchez’s mask was turned up to full power in 2014. He was limited to just 66 games as Sanchez suffered through more than one concussion, brought on by the repeated onslaught of foul balls that rained down on Sanchez seemingly every time he took the squat.
Even during a minor league rehab stint, Sanchez was caught by a foul ball on the mask that brought back the concussion symptoms. His last major league appearance came on July 25th, but his season officially ended on August 16th, which turned out to be his final minor league rehab game.
When he’s healthy, Sanchez is actually a pretty good hitter. You wouldn’t know it by looking at his .196 average from 2014, but he’s had more than his fair share of clutch hits over the past couple years.
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On August 15th, 2013, Sanchez enjoyed probably the biggest hit of his entire career. Down 3-1 to the Washington Nationals, Sanchez dug in during the top of the ninth, facing Nats’ closer Rafael Soriano with two outs. With two runners on, and facing a full count, Sanchez pulled a high fastball over the wall for a three-run bomb, putting the Giants ahead 4-3, which would eventually be the final score.
He continued his clutch-ness in 2014, when, on April 15th, he hit a walk-off single against the much-hated Los Angeles Dodgers in the 12th inning. As if that’s not reason enough to like Sanchez, his postgame interview was fantastic. He said his wife and daughter had been waiting outside the stadium for three hours, and “my daughter has school tomorrow”. He’s a family man!
Just over a week later, Sanchez came up with another huge hit, against the Colorado Rockies on April 23rd. In the top of 11th inning, with the score tied at 8, Sanchez blasted a grand slam, his first, and thus far only, career “Adios pelota!” with the bases juiced. Sanchez can hit, and he can do it when it matters most.
Not only does he come up with the big hits, the team wins when Sanchez is behind the plate. Since he entered the league in 2011, the Giants are 66-48 (.579 winning percentage) when Sanchez starts a game.
Defensively, Sanchez throws out runners at a 26 percent clip. That’s not very pretty, but also remember that Sanchez is Lincecum’s personal catcher, for the most part. Lincecum is known for being notoriously slow out of the stretch, which makes it nearly impossible for Sanchez to consistently gun down runners trying to steal.
But seriously, Sanchez has a gun. Watch him nail speedster Tyler Graham. From his knees.
By the way, Graham is a former Giants’ farmhand who stole 300 bases in his minor league career, including 60 in 2011 with Triple-A Fresno, the Giants’ affiliate.
Susac is a great catcher with an extremely bright future, but at this point in his career, he is better off playing four out of five days in Triple-A Sacramento, rather than sitting four out of five days in San Francisco. Getting consistent at-bats will allow him to further develop, and become an even bigger force when his major league time does come.
The Giants are dealing with a very good problem. Sanchez just could be the correct answer. Give him a chance.