...I don't expect him to perform at the same incredible level that he illustrated late last year (.296 .372 .650 1.023) but if Sanchez puts up solid numbers next year (something in the neighborhood of .280/.350/.500/.850+) the Yanx need to do what a lot of clubs are doing with their young stars ...even though they may still be under team control, teams are signing youngsters who have proven the can play at a high level to multi-year contracts or extensions. ...though he is in fact under team control for another 5 years, if Sanchez'z bat continues to be well above average next year, at 24 years of age I would make an exception of giving 8-10 year contracts to players...and I'd be willing to bet that he'd agree to an 8-10 year deal with an AAV of $15 Mil per year, which is almost paltry these days. ...and as long as he can hit, he can always be moved to 1B and/or DH.
I hears Buck Showalter being interviewed a few years ago worried that the Yankees would eventually come after Wieters. No worry Buck, the Yankees got their man. Fully hoping that Sanchez will fall into the fabled class of Yankee Catchers like Dickey, Yogi, Thurman and Jorge. Thought Sanchez made a huge enough impact to win ROY but not to be. Yankees got some good young players, looking forward to the season.
Wieters? Ah I think all gms learned the Mauer lesson about spending big money on Tall backstops. The position is not conducive to physical height regarding spine biomechanics.
^^^I would think catching is also hard on the knees of a taller person. ...Though not quite as tall as Wieters, Carlton Fisk at 6'3" lasted a very long time...Sanchez is 6'2" which is also taller than your average catcher...we'll just have to see about him. If his bat continues to shine I can see him at 1B and/or DH someday down the road.
Given the current team roster MLB projects the '17 lineup to be: 1. Gardner 2. Gregorius 3. Sanchez 4. Holiday 5. Bird 6. Castro 7. Headley 8. Judge 9. Ellesbury While an improvement over '16 the man known as the GM needs to start kicking butt shedding #1, 9, and 7. I want to see Yankee success get current not an 8 year championship drought followed by mediocrity. Still looking forward to the season though, maybe a miracle wil l occur.
Fisk is definitely an outlier. He used the classic crouch. Up on his toes and quads testing on calves. Then elbows easily rested on thighs....squared up as my coach used to say. He was proportioned like shorter backstops...just bigger. Definitely a contrast to say Bench or Munson styles. Wieters and Mauer always looked mis-proportioned behind the plate.
...yeah, there have not been a lot of tall catchers that have lasted that long, and needless to say, physically and mentally, catching in particular is the most demanding position on the field. ...I was a pretty good catcher myself and I remember how much those days of catching double header games in 100 degree weather can take out of you...not to mention getting up and down from the crouch all day, getting dinged by foul tips and pitches in the dirt, and of course, getting bowled over when blocking the plate. When I was 15-16 I had a very good coach who eventually convinced me that I did not always have to take a beating by blocking the plate and under certain situations I could use a "swipe tag"...this same coach also had me practice throwing from my knees to 2B in order to build up my arm strength. ...fwiw, Mauer actually had a "growth spurt" well after he became a MLB catcher and after he won his first batting title in 2006...he went from 6'4" to 6'5" at age 23...plus, it's not like Mauer worn down over an extended career because his knee and back problems came at an early age...just sayin'.
i always thought that mauer's leg length caused him to have to crouch more deeply and as a result he often was leaning more forward to get into the proper position to set a target. knee and back damage doesn't have to be age or repetitive if you are putting undue pressure & stress on the system. Biomechanically, i think there is an ideal body type/shape & size for catchers. add to that then the quickness skills, arm strength and overall game intelligence needed to play the position. makes you wonder why no one ever talks about the "5 tools" specific for catchers? or what those 5 tools are for that matter. curious how you'd define them. historically i'm sure these are pretty rare, and more than a few in the HoF only had 3 or 4.
...another problem for taller catchers is a diminished ability to "frame" pitches as well as smaller catchers...taller catchers are all arms and legs scrunched together...with all those gangly moving parts it kinda makes it hard to fool the ump.
exactly. and that is gonna get you into unnatural positions and put stress on knees, hips, neck and lower back. one solution to that is the Bench "outrigger" leg. I found it it to be comfortable, but its a style I haven't seen in use for quite some time to my recollection.
I always admired Bob Boone as a Catcher; whose very similar in many ways to Fisk. Both won the ROY in 72. Fisk was 6'3"; Boone- 6' 2" I'm definitely not saying Boone was better by no means, just loved watching him play vs Rickey Henderson, and any other speedster (ref:***).... Boone's career began age 24, played until he was 42. Fisk began age 21, but only caught 16 gms from 69-71. His first full year 72, retired after playing at 45. Boone has 7 Gold Gloves, 40% (thrown-out base-stealers) "CS"; *** Fisk's 1 GG; and CS% (thrown-out base-stealers) at a lifetime 34%.*** Boone lifetime B'avg .254 hitter, 0 "Silver Slugger's" Fisk: lifetime B'avg .269, with 7 "Silver Sluggers" However both had the same Fldg Pctg lifetime .987 Boone: 608 Strike Outs, vs 663 Base on Balls. Very impressive stat imo.. Fisk: 1,386 SO's, vs 649 BB's As for Fisk, a much better Offensive Catcher, & a helluva Defensive Catcher, playing in 11- All Star Games; and had a Lifetime: .269/ .341/ .457 Boone played in 4- A.S. gms, and had a Lifetime: .254/.315/.346 Fisk had 1,330 Rbi's/ 376 Hr's Boone: 849 Rbi's/ 128 Hr's *** Boone's throw out best year was at 58% in 82; league leader 3 yrs out of 21 yrs. he had 2 yrs with a +50% or better 10 with a >40% to 49% 3 with a >30% - 39% less than 20% not noted ***Fisk throw out pctg., best year was at 58%; in 1971 only playing in 14 gms. he had 0 yrs with a +50% or better 2 yrs., with a 40% to 49% 13 yrs. with a 30% - 39% 3 yrs 20% or > less than 20% not noted Rickey Henderson when asked who was the hardest Catcher to steal off of, stated Bob Boone, due to Boone's incessant throw backs to 1st, as well- Boone seemed to of read Henderson unlike no other Catcher, according to Rickey...
was that before Herzog got ahold of Pena and made him sit-up downrigger style, instead of on his ass; as Tony did in Pittsburg? Pena 35% toss out rate.... Mike Fkng Piazza had a stellar lifetime 23% toss out rate Bill Dickey had a Lifetime 47% with a high of 60% toss out rate Yogi Berra had a Lifetime 49% Lifetime, with a 58% high, toss out rate. No Wonder THESE TWO ARE GIANTS, I MEAN YANX, ie, DICKEY / BERRA..!
