Unlikely All-Star happy to be there
A guy like Freddy Sanchez supposedly has no chance to make the All-Star team.
Begins the season as a utility infielder on the league’s worst club.
Doesn’t hit many home runs.
Plays in a small market, and thus lacks the fan base and voting clout of the big-city stars.
Almost never appears on national TV, making it difficult to develop name recognition outside his own city.
Somehow – by persistence, ingenuity and a lot of hits – Sanchez will be on the bench July 11 at PNC Park, the same place he started the season. Only this time he will be sitting there for the N.L. All-Stars, and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ third baseman will be one of the least likely players to occupy such a spot in years.
This will be the only time all season that the N.L.’s leading hitter, with a .363 average, will be happy being a backup.
“You kind of get that tag as a utility player, it’s hard to break,” said Sanchez, chosen as an N.L. reserve by Astros manager Phil Garner despite being a regular only since early May. “You kind of have other people telling you you’re not good enough, so you’ve got to have that confidence in yourself. I’ve done it everywhere I’ve been, so I knew it was just a matter of playing time and at-bats.”
What’s remarkable is there once was a time when the 28-year-old former Red Sox farmhand never knew if he would be able to walk, much less have an athletic career. He was born with a deformed left foot – he had a club foot and was severely pigeon-toed – and needed a walker as a youngster even after having corrective surgery.
“They told me I might not be able to walk again. I had braces and everything,” Sanchez said. “To go from not even being able to walk to being in the big leagues is something special.”
His Pirates teammates feel the same.
Outfielder Jason Bay, pushed by a massive, get-out-the-vote drive begun by the Pirates after he hit 12 home runs in May, will be the team’s first All-Star starter in 13 years. But when he rushed to call his wife with the good news, he first told her about Sanchez.
“Honestly, I was more thrilled for Freddy,” Bay said. “I’ve said it for weeks, he’s the most deserving player in this clubhouse. I was worried that if I got voted in, it would hurt his chances of making the team.”
Sanchez is very popular in Pittsburgh, as evidenced by his 856,685 write-in votes for the All-Star game. With 13 multihit games since June 1, he’s also gained the respect of opposing managers.
Garner, himself a former Pirates infielder nicknamed Scrap Iron for his resiliency, no doubt saw a little of himself in the scrappy Sanchez. And Tigers manager Jim Leyland wouldn’t allow closer Todd Jones to pitch to Sanchez in the ninth inning of Detroit’s 9-8 victory Sunday, ordering an intentional walk even though Sanchez represented the potential winning run.
“I normally don’t do that, but I couldn’t live with letting Sanchez tie it up or beat me,” said Leyland, who had seen Sanchez deliver two-run doubles in his previous two at-bats.
Clearing the bases
Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen discovered that sensitivity training gave him some insights on language and allowed him to do something he really enjoys – talk. “I’m glad I did it. I’m glad it’s over with and a lot of people will be real excited to hear that Ozzie finally got punished and did what he was supposed to do,” Guillen said after a two-hour session with a certified counselor. … Pedro Martinez will get treatment for his sore hip and throw a light side session before a decision is made on whether he’ll get another start for the New York Mets before the All-Star break. … More than 8.5 million fans attended interleague games this season, the most in the 10 years of play between the American and National Leagues. … Astros manager Phil Garner passed up a chance to appeal his one-game suspension and was set to serve the penalty Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. Garner was suspended after tossing a chair onto the field following his ejection during a loss in Detroit on June 26.