Freddy Sanchez

Freddy Sanchez
Free agent
Second baseman
Born: (1977-12-21) December 21, 1977 Hollywood, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 2002 for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics (through 2012 season)
Batting average	.297
Home runs	48
Runs batted in	371
Teams
Boston Red Sox (2002–2003) Pittsburgh Pirates (2004–2009) San Francisco Giants (2009–2011)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (2010) 3x MLB All-Star (2006, 2007, 2009) NL batting champion (2006)

Frederick Phillip "Freddy" Sanchez, Jr. (born December 21, 1977) is an American Major League Baseball second baseman who last played for the San Francisco Giants (2009–2011). Sanchez has also played for the Boston Red Sox (2002–2003), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (2004–2009). He bats and throws right-handed.

High school and college

Sanchez graduated in 1996 from Burbank High School in Burbank, California, where he was a consistent three-year varsity player. In his senior year he was named MVP of the talent-filled Foothill League of the CIF. He also starred in the Daily News Bernie Milligan All-Star Game, where he earned MVP honors. While in high school, he played on the same summer league team as former teammate Jack Wilson. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 30th round out of Burbank High, but opted not to sign.

His success in high school was nothing short of miraculous. Sanchez was born with a severely pigeon-toed left foot and a club right foot, and his parents had received an initial medical prognosis that he might never walk. After seeking specialized medical attention through the Children's Orthopaedic Center at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, he underwent surgery to correct his foot problems at 13 months, and then had to undergo years of physical therapy before he could walk properly.^[1]

Sanchez went to Glendale Community College for two years, where he led the team to a co-championship in the Western State Conference, which was also the college's first playoff appearance since 1981. He transferred to Dallas Baptist University as a Junior, where he played in the NAIA College World Series. In his senior year, he transferred to Oklahoma City University in 2000, where he was named a NAIA All-Star.

Career

Minor leagues to the majors

Mexican/American Sanchez was originally signed by Boston Red Sox scout Ernie Jacobs after being selected in the 11th round of the 2000 draft. In the 2000 season, he split the year between Single-A Lowell and Augusta. For Lowell he hit .288, and for Augusta he hit .301. He began 2001 playing for Single-A Sarasota, where he hit a Red Sox minor league system best of .339. He quickly moved up to Double-A Trenton, where he hit well above the .300 mark for all of his time there, including above .400 in his first 10 games.

On August 2, 2002, Sanchez was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket, and made his major league debut for the Red Sox on the 10th against Tampa Bay. He went 1-for-2 with a pinch-hit two-run single. The 2003 season saw him optioned back and forth between the Red Sox and Pawtucket. At the 2003 trading deadline, Sanchez was dealt (along with LHP Mike Gonzalez) to the Pittsburgh Pirates in return for pitchers Jeff Suppan, Scott Sauerbeck and Anastacio Martinez, and was assigned to Triple-A Nashville;^[2] he played only one game there before an ankle injury forced him onto the disabled list.

Sanchez spent most of the 2004 season on the disabled list because of the ankle injury, and did not play until July; he joined the major league roster in September.

Pirates: Breakout and Batting Title

2005

2005 was Sanchez's first full season in the major leagues. He began the season as a backup infielder, but ended up playing in a majority of the team's games due to injuries and poor performance by other players. He appeared in 132 games and made 100 starts (39 at second base, 6 at shortstop and 55 at third base), compiling a .291 batting average with 5 home runs and 35 RBI. 2005 included the birth of his son, Evan.

2006

Despite his impressive finish to 2005, Sanchez began the 2006 season as a bench player. When third baseman Joe Randa suffered an injury on May 6, Sanchez took over the position.

Sanchez received over 850,000 write-in votes for the 2006 All-Star Game, the most of all MLB players. He made the National All-Star squad as a reserve selected by NL manager and former Pirate Phil Garner, a former third and second baseman. Sanchez entered the game in the 5th inning at shortstop, replacing perennial All-Star Edgar Rentería. He made a stellar leaping catch which was the defensive play of the game. He finished the game at 2nd base and went 0 for 2 at the plate with two ground-outs.

A local reporter has dubbed 2006 Sanchez's "storybook season" for his rise from a high-ceiling, limited-visibility prospect to an All-Star and batting champion. Pirates manager Jim Tracy admitted his surprise and praised him, "If you handed out ballots at the start of the season listing potential candidates to win the National League batting championship, I don't know that his name would have been on it. Now? He's a guy people are going to keep an eye on for many years to come."^[3]

Beyond this amazing accomplishment, Sanchez reached the coveted 200-hit mark for the season. He also led the National League in doubles with 53, as well as having 85 RBIs. He led the majors in line drive percentage (27.5%).^[4] After the season, Sanchez received the Tony Conigliaro Award for having overcome his physical adversities.^[1]

In early January 2006 his Burbank High School Bulldog baseball jersey number "21" was retired during a ceremony hosted by the school and city officials. The day was declared "Freddy Sanchez" day. In January 2007, Sanchez was voted one of Pittsburgh's most 25 beautiful people by Pittsburgh Magazine.^[5]

Sanchez became the first Pirate to win a batting title since Bill Madlock in 1983. Sanchez won the award for Pittsburgh, beating Florida Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera on the last day of the 2006 season. He made his MLB All-Star Game debut in his own ballpark at PNC Park in 2006 with teammate Jason Bay as the starter for the Pirates.

2007

Sanchez in 2007.

In 2007, Sanchez was moved to second base, replacing Jose Castillo. Sanchez was also named to the 2007 National League All-Star as a reserve, selected by Tony LaRussa. He was the only Pirate All-Star, and it was his second straight All-Star game. He finished the season with a batting average above .300, and a career-high 11 home runs.

2008

On January 26, 2008, his wife Alissa gave birth to their second son, Ryan Anthony. Shortly following, on February 5, the Pirates and Sanchez agreed to a multi-year deal. Sanchez's new contract guaranteed him two seasons with the Pirates, plus a club option for 2010 that would become a guaranteed year if Sanchez met certain performance criteria in 2009; the 2010 option took the place of Sanchez's first year of free agency. The contract would pay the two-time All-Star second baseman up to $18.9 million. With a sluggish first half but a strong second half, Sanchez batted .271 in 2008, with 9 home runs.

2009

On May 25 Sanchez had six hits in one game, Pittsburgh's first six-hit game in 19 years, joining Texas Ranger Ian Kinsler as the only ballplayers to garner that many hits in one game in the season.^[6]

Shortly after it was announced that Sanchez was the Pirates' lone representative in the 2009 All-Star Game, the team began to promote Sanchez on the trade market. Interested teams included the Giants, Rockies, Twins, and Mariners. On July 16, reports broke that the Pirates had asked to sit down and talk about a long term contract with Sanchez and Jack Wilson. Both players rejected the initial offers, but reportedly were still open to negotiation.^[7] On July 29, 2009, Sanchez's status was resolved when he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitcher Tim Alderson.^[8]

San Francisco Giants

2009

On August 26, Sanchez was placed on 15-day disabled list due to a strained left shoulder.^[9]

On October 30, after hitting a combined .293/.326/.416 over 111 games with the Pirates and Giants, Sanchez signed a two-year contract to remain with the Giants.^[10]

2010: World Series Champion

Sanchez had a nice year in his first full season in San Francisco, hitting .292 with 7 home runs and 47 runs batted en route to the San Francisco Giants winning 92 games and the National League Western Division title, in a season that culminated in the Giants' winning the 2010 World Series title. Sanchez became the first player in history to collect 3 doubles in his first 3 World Series at-bats off Texas Rangers ace Cliff Lee in an 11-7 victory.^[11] He had initially been awarded doubles in his first four at-bats, but his fourth consecutive stop at second base was ruled a single and an error.

2011

On June 10, Sanchez dislocated his shoulder diving for a groundball by Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips. On August 1, it was announced that Sanchez would have season-ending surgery.

2012

Sanchez started the year on the disabled list. On July 5, it was announced that Sanchez would miss the rest of the season after undergoing back surgery.

Family

Sanchez and his wife Alissa have two sons; Evan (born April 19, 2005) and Ryan (born January 26, 2008).^[12][13]

See also

• List of Major League Baseball batting champions
• List of Major League Baseball doubles champions

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Freddy Sanchez.

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)