Alex Anthony Sanchez (born April 8, 1966) is an American former

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(MLB)

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in 1989.

Early life

Sanchez was born in

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California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and attended

Antioch High School Antioch High School is a public high school located in Antioch, California, United States. It is located at 700 West 18th Street between G and L streets. It is a comprehensive high school for grades 9-12. There are about 120 teachers, and 20 mai ...

. In high school, he was named A-East Bay and All-Northern California for two years. ''

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'' named Sanchez one of the top 25 pro prospects, and he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of high school. Sanchez elected to attend the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

(UCLA) instead.

College career

At UCLA, he set a single season all-time record for having 16 wins in one season in 1986. He was named co-Player of the Year in the Pac 10, and first team All-America by '' Baseball America'' in 1986. After the 1986 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.

Professional career

Sanchez was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1st round (17th pick overall) of the

1987 Major League Baseball Draft The Major League Baseball Draft is the process by which Major League Baseball (MLB) teams select athletes to play for their organization. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professional con ...

. He was named International League Most Valuable Pitcher in 1989 while playing for the

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. He played for the Blue Jays for the 1989 season. On September 24, 1990, Sanchez was traded to the

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. He was traded back to the Blue Jays on November 6, 1990. Sanchez signed with the Kansas City Royals in 1992 and played with their minor league affiliates until 1993. In 1994 and 1995, he played with the minor league affiliates of the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

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and the Oakland Athletics.

Awards and honors

He was inducted into the Antioch Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Personal

Sanchez was high school teammates with Chicago Cubs pitcher

Jeff Pico Jeffrey Mark Pico (born February 12, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current coach. He played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs. Early life Pico was born in Antioch, California, and attended Antioch High School. His teamm ...

and PGA Tour golfer

Larry Silveira Larry Silveira (born October 12, 1965) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. Amateur career Silveira was originally a baseball player and played catcher for Antioch High School along with former Ma ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Alex 1966 births Living people All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball City Royals players Baseball players from California Calgary Cannons players Edmonton Trappers players Greenville Bluesmen players Harwich Mariners players Knoxville Blue Jays players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chicks players Myrtle Beach Blue Jays players Omaha Royals players Pacific Suns players People from Antioch, California St. Catharines Blue Jays players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players UCLA Bruins baseball players category:Wichita Wranglers players