On Friday night during the potential World Series preview between the Yankees and Dodgers in L.A. (NYY-LAD GameTracker), New York catcher Gary Sanchez crushed the 100th home run of his career. Here's a look:
Adrian Beltre approves! This was Sanchez's 355th career game, and in terms of games played no one has ever gotten to 100 home runs faster among catchers and American League hitters. Here's the official word:
.@ElGarySanchez hit his 100th HR in his 355th career game, making him the fastest to 100 career HR in AL history and behind only Ryan Howard in MLB history. pic.twitter.com/yJjk2nOlCG
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 24, 2019
Ryan Howard reached 100 home runs in 325 games, which as noted is the MLB record. As for Sanchez, he came in averaging 45 home runs per 162 games played for his career, which is simply astounding by the standards of catchers. That was his 29th home run of the season, and he's gotten there in just 89 games. He's now batting .238/.311/.528 on the year. The 26-year-old Sanchez's power from such a premium position has made him essential to the Yankees' success this season.
