Yankees Sanchez Surprises No One By Breaking Another MLB Record

New York Yankees rookie catcher Gary Sanchez added a few MLB records to his growing collection in Wednesday’s 11-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

After taking a brief rest in early September, Yankees rookie Gary Sanchez is back to being the most dangerous hitter in the American League in the second half. He has five home runs in his last four games, including two in Wednesday night’s win, bringing his season total to an incredible 19 in just 43 games.

Sanchez’s solo shot in the sixth inning off of Rays reliever Justin Marks earned him another entry in the history books, making him the fastest player to 19 home runs in MLB history, breaking Wally Berger‘s record set all the way back in 1930.

The 23-year-old went 3-for-4 on the night with a walk, three runs, and five RBI. It was his seventh game in the last two months with three or more hits and his third multi-homer game.

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Katie Sharp of River Avenue Blues pointed out Wednesday that Sanchez has homered once per every 8.7 at-bats in his young career, which is actually a better pace than Babe Ruth in his famous 1927 season where he reached 60 home runs.

It seems a foregone conclusion that Sanchez will now win the American League Rookie of the Year award despite playing in less than two months of the 2016 season.

He faces better-than-usual competition from Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Michael Fulmer, who has 10 wins and a 3.03 ERA and has been in the big leagues for the majority of the year, but assuming Sanchez continues at this historic pace, voters will have no choice but to give him the honor.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi has been stumping for Sanchez’s candidacy over the last month, telling reporters following Wednesday’s victory:

"I think you’ve got to think about it, you really do. I know people are going to argue he’s only been here two months, but his two months have been as good as it gets."

This is probably the most exciting performance I have ever seen by a Yankees player. Peak Alex Rodriguez comes close, but the fact that Sanchez is a homegrown guy that we’ve seen grow up over the years makes his success incredibly fun.

Sanchez seems like a legitimate superstar in the making, and has made this year’s Yankees ten-times more interesting to watch. With all the long-balls, it’s easy to overlook the fact that he’s shown excellent plate discipline and has been surprisingly good defensively given his iffy reputation.

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He’s been the real-deal all around and should remain extremely valuable even when the homers slow down.