New York Yankees rookie Gary Sanchez became the third-fastest player in Major League Baseball history to hit 10 career home runs with a two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth inning during Friday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.
With the Yankees already leading 10-1, Sanchez took a 1-0 pitch from Vance Worley and deposited it into the left field seats:
It was the rookie’s 84th plate appearance of the season and 86th of his career.
Friday night was also just his 20th big league game of the season and 22nd of his career. Sanchez did play one game with the Yankees on May 13, but they demoted him to Triple-A shortly afterward. He rejoined the club in early August and has since served as the everyday catcher in New York.
Per Brendan Kuty of NJ.com, only George Scott of the Boston Red Sox (1966) and Trevor Story of the Colorado Rockies (this season) hit their first 10 home runs faster.
Scott didn’t amount to a Babe Ruth-like power hitter, though. In his 14-year career with four different teams, he hit 271 home runs while recording over 20 in just five of those seasons. In two of them, he recorded over 30, including his league-leading 36-homer campaign for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1975.
There are still plenty of at-bats and seasons left before the jury is out on Sanchez and Story.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Sanchez also became the first rookie since 1920 to have 10 home runs and 20 RBI in the first 20 games of a season Friday.
His 10 dingers in 20 games are tied for the third-highest season-starting total in Yankees history, per SportsCenter:
With New York 5.5 games back in the American League East and 3.5 games out of the second wild-card spot, there might not be postseason baseball at Yankee Stadium this year. But with a rising star like Sanchez, there is something special brewing in the Bronx.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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