NEW YORK — Work hasn’t even started and Gary Sanchez has already made his bosses happy.
Sanchez pulled out of his commitment to play with the Dominican Republic in this year’s World Baseball Classic to focus on preparing for his first full season with the Yankees, the catcher told reporters on Tuesday.
It was a “really hard decision,” he said.
“I actually said yes initially. I was going to be on the team,” Sanchez said, via his agent and translator, Francis Marquez, of Magnus Sports. “But I spoke to my family and the more I thought about it the more I felt I had to be in spring training for the full spring training to get ready for the season.”
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His teammate, reliever Dellin Betances, has committed to playing for the D.R. Shortstop Didi Gregorius will play for the Netherlands. Starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka won’t play for Team Japan.
Sanchez appeared at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan for the 37th annual Thurman Munson Awards Dinner. It benefitted the AHRC New York City Foundation, which assists those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Sanchez, 24, is focused on proving his sensational rookie debut was no farce.
He finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting after collecting 20 homers and 42 RBI with a .299 batting average in just 53 games.
“I’ve only been in the big leagues for about two months and I know it went well but I still think there’s a lot I have to do preparation-wise to be able to catch for a full season for the first time,” Sanchez said.
Not worried about spring training
Sanchez appeared poised to take the backup catcher’s role behind Brian McCann last year, but he fumbled away the job with a terrible spring training and spent half the season at Triple-A. He was asked what he learned from the experience.
“I’ve always been a slow starter,” he said. “So I’m not changing anything in particular. But I am approaching this spring training with a lot of intensity and I’m not resting on my laurels after the two months that I had last season.”
His expectations
Fans will expect another Barry Bonds type of performance from Sanchez because that’s just what fans do. Here’s how he’s taking their expectations:
“My expectations are, No. 1, to stay healthy and, No. 2, to help the pitching staff. That’s a very important part of what I want to do this year and just be able to help the team win,” he said.
Will Yankees be contenders in 2017? Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.
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