Despite concerns about his defensive abilities, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi has committed to Gary Sanchez as his postseason catcher.
Sanchez has had some defensive issues, and a wild pitch and a passed ball got by him on Thursday in a 9-6 loss. Girardi, however, gave a firm defense of his young catcher.
“Catchers are going to have bad days,” Girardi said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “He got the crap beat out of him [Thursday]. Everyone wants to focus on the two balls that maybe got by him. What about the 12 or 14 that he did block? He got hit in the neck, he got hit in the shoulder. I’ve been asked the question, ‘Do you catch Romine with Severino on Tuesday?’
“Just by chance, take a look at the ERAs with the catcher and what this kid has done with Severino. So this is my catcher. I am happy with the progress that he’s made. Will he make more progress? Absolutely. He’s young. This kid has really made a lot of progress, and you’re going to have a bad day every once in a while as a catcher.”
Sanchez was benched due to poor defense at one point, but his work ethic has clearly impressed the manager. There is no question who will be starting during the playoffs.
