Gary Sanchez quieted the doubters on Monday, at least for a brief moment, with a loud home run against the Tigers.
In the bottom of the third, after drawing a walk in the first inning, Sanchez took a 97 mph pitch from Gregory Soto and launched a home run over the batter’s eye in dead center, putting the Yanks on the board and more importantly, showing a flash of the Sanchez of old.
"I was just looking for a pitch to hit there," Sanchez said. "I wanted something in the zone that I could put a good swing on, and I did. It felt good. It felt good to connect and run around the bases for my first home run of spring training."
Sanchez struggled through the entire 2020 season, but the Yanks offered the 28-year-old a $6.35 million deal for 2021, which many consider to be a crucial season for the catcher, who is trying to prove that he can regain his 2017 and early 2019 form, when he was one of the best offensive catchers in all of baseball.