Jorge Anthony Sanchez (born May 20, 1988) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB)

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who played for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

between 2013 and 2017.

Early career

High school

A native of

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Sanchez was a three-time All- Dade County selection at Miami Killian Senior High School. He was team captain in 2005 and 2006, and led his team in every offensive category in 2006. Killian advanced to the Florida state finals in 2004 and 2005.

College

Sanchez has established himself as one of the most prolific hitters in

Boston College Eagles baseball The Boston College Eagles baseball team represents Boston College in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team participates in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The head coach of the Eagles is Mike Gambino, a 2000 alumnu ...

history. He ranks fifth all-time in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s with 24 and

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI) with 124, sixth in

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

with 202 and eighth in runs with 125. In 2008, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and was named a league all-star. In 2009, Sanchez ranked eighth in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) in runs (63), ninth in home runs (14), tenth in doubles (19) and

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

(.614), twelfth in total bases (140), 16th in batting (.346) and 17th in hits (79) and

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

(.443). He has also thrown out the most runners in the conference this season, catching opponents

stealing Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

19 times. His 63 runs this season are a Boston College single-season record breaking the previous record of 60 runs held by Steve Langone and Sean McGowan which has held since 1999. His 14 home runs are the third-most in a single season and his 79 hits are fourth. Sanchez is one of three finalists for the 2009

Johnny Bench Award The Buster Posey Award, formerly known as the Johnny Bench Award, was created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top catcher in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The award is administered by the Greater Wichita Area Sp ...

, presented to the nation's top collegiate catcher as well as being named to the 2009

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

All-America Third Team and tabbed as one of 30 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, presented to the nation's premier amateur baseball player. He was also the first player from Boston College to be voted to the All-ACC First Team. He also played for the Battle Creek Bombers of the

Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not paid, so as to maintain their college el ...

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Sanchez was selected 4th overall in the 2009 MLB draft by the

, and became just the third catcher out of

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

to be selected in the MLB Draft, and also the highest draft pick in Boston College history. Sanchez made his professional debut for the Short-Season A

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The ...

on June 20, 2009. He played in four games for the Spikes before being promoted to the Single-A

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

. Sanchez finished the 2009 season with the Advanced-A

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

, and in 48 combined games that year, hit .309 with 7 home runs and 48 RBI. He played the entire 2010 season with the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as th ...

, catching the inaugural game with the Pirates new Advanced-A affiliate. In 59 games, Sanchez batted .314 with 4 home runs and 35 RBI. In the offseason he played in 18 games for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was established ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

(AFL), batting .206 with 4 home runs and 9 RBI. Continuing his progression through the minor leagues, Sanchez played the 2011 season with the Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of the ...

. In a career-high 118 games, he hit .241 with 5 home runs and 44 RBI. Sanchez split time in the 2012 season with Altoona and the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. He would bat .251 with 8 home runs and 43 RBI in 102 combined games. In November 2012, the Pirates added Sanchez to the 40 man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. On June 21, 2013, Sanchez was officially recalled to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He recorded his first Major League hit on June 23, 2013 – a double off of the Angels right hander

Joe Blanton Joseph Matthew Blanton (born December 11, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals, Pi ...

. The ball that Sanchez hit got stuck in the scoreboard, and after the Pirates finished batting, officials went out and retrieved the ball. He would appear in 22 games with the Pirates in 2013, hitting .233 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. In the minor leagues that year, Sanchez hit .282 with 10 home runs and 42 RBI. 2014 again saw Sanchez split time between the Major and minor leagues. He would play in 26 games for the Pirates, and bat .267 with 2 home runs and 13 RBI. In Triple-A Indianapolis, Sanchez batted .235 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI. During the offseason, he appeared in 10 games for the

Toros del Este The Los Toros del Este (formerly Azucareros del Este) are a baseball team in the Dominican Winter League established in . Based in the eastern city of La Romana, the Toros have won three championship series in their history, winning the title in ...

of the

Dominican Winter League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

. Sanchez played the majority of the 2015 season in Indianapolis, hitting .236 with 3 home runs and 47 RBI in 94 games. He played just 3 MLB games for the Pirates in 2015, batting .375. On January 6, 2016, Sanchez was designated for assignment. He was released on January 13.

Toronto Blue Jays

On February 19, 2016, Sanchez signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

that included an invitation to spring training. He was released on July 28.

San Francisco Giants

Sanchez signed a minor league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

on August 3, 2016. Sanchez was promoted to the major league on September 27, 2016.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On December 2, 2016, Sanchez signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

Atlanta Braves

On August 31, 2017, Sanchez was traded to the Braves for

Brandon Phillips Brandon Emil Phillips (born June 28, 1981) is an American professional baseball second baseman and partial owner of the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland ...

He became a free agent on October 24, 2017.

Cincinnati Reds

On February 25, 2018, Sanchez signed a minor league deal with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Texas Rangers

On April 16, 2018, Sanchez was traded to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later or cash. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018. Sanchez re-signed on a minor-league deal on January 22, 2019. He was assigned to AA

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

for the 2019 season, hitting .246/.316/.346 with 4 home runs and 31 RBI. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.

References

External links

BC Eagles Player Bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Tony 1988 births Living people Baseball players from Miami Major League Baseball catchers Pittsburgh Pirates players Atlanta Braves players Boston College Eagles baseball players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Bradenton Marauders players State College Spikes players West Virginia Power players Lynchburg Hillcats players Altoona Curve players Mesa Solar Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Sacramento River Cats players Salt Lake Bees players Louisville Bats players Round Rock Express players Frisco RoughRiders players Miami Killian Senior High School alumni