If there’s been one criticism of Gary Sanchez in his excellent 2017 campaign, it’s that he gives up too many passed balls. Too often, fans feel, they see him scrambling to find a ball that got under his glove, through his legs or off his chest protector. While Gary’s busy trying to locate that wayward ball, runners are advancing 90 feet.
While Sanchez does need to improve this particular area, he faces a challenge that most other developing catchers don’t: the Yankee pitching staff., and more specifically the pitches the staff throws. If you were trying to design a staff that would be difficult to catch, you’d be hard-pressed to come up with a better example than the Yankee starters and bullpen.