New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez broke his own franchise record on Tuesday. Sanchez, who hit home run Nos. 33 and 34 as part of New York's scoring effort against the Texas Rangers, now possesses the two highest single-season home-run totals ever for a Yankees catcher. In fact, Sanchez is only the second Yankees backstop with multiple 30-homer years, joining Yogi Berra.
34 homers for @ElGarySanchez. 🐙
— MLB (@MLB) September 4, 2019
No Yankee catcher has ever hit more. 💪 pic.twitter.com/SRXPxGjfJ4
Sanchez, 26, entered the night hitting .233/.308/.525 (116 OPS+). His power production would be impressive in its own right, but stands out because of the time he missed earlier this season due to injury. Tuesday's game was just Sanchez's 99th of the year. The Yankeees as a club, meanwhile, were playing their 140th contest.
Were it not for Sanchez's time on the shelf -- first because of a strained calf, then later a strained groin -- he would likely be in line to top the single-season record for catcher home runs. As it stands, that mark belongs to Johnny Bench, who homered 45 times in 1970.
| Catcher | Season | HR | PA |
|---|---|---|---|
Johnny Bench | 1970 | 45 | 671 |
Javy Lopez | 2003 | 43 | 495 |
Todd Hundley | 1996 | 41 | 624 |
Roy Campanella | 1953 | 41 | 590 |
Mike Piazza | 1999 | 40 | 593 |
Mike Piazza | 1997 | 40 | 633 |
| Johnny Bench | 1972 | 40 | 653 |
Sanchez, who had homered every 11.7 at-bats coming into Tuesday (or about the same rate as New York Mets super-rookie Pete Alonso), has a good chance to post the eighth 40-homer season for a catcher. Bench, Javy Lopez, Todd Hundley, Roy Campanella and Mike Piazza are the only backstops to accomplish such a feat.
Provided he stays healthy, Sanchez seems likely to join the ranks sometime in September. If he keeps swinging like he was on Tuesday, it'll be sooner rather than later.
