Sanchez making most of opportunity with Chicago White Sox
It was a sleepy morning Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Inside the Chicago White Sox's clubhouse, most players sat quietly in front of their lockers and undoubtedly pondered a stretch of 15 losses in 20 games that left them with the third-worst record (9-22) in baseball.
Yolmer Sanchez is not most players.
"Every day is a new day," he said. "I wake up every day and say thanks to God for giving me the opportunity to feel happy, to have a beautiful family, a beautiful son, a beautiful wife, my mom and my dad.
"I just say thanks for everything I have and I come here and have fun."
A few minutes later, Sanchez located a football helmet in the clubhouse. He strapped it on and started ramming trash cans and luggage.
It sure beats past seasons, when the versatile infielder was figuratively banging his head against the wall trying to stick with the Sox.
"I played with him at Triple-A (Charlotte) and knew how good he was," shortstop Tim Anderson said. "He can play everywhere, hit from both sides; he brings a lot of energy. It's just a matter of getting your chance and showing you can stick.
"He got his chance and now he's showing everyone he's a good player. A great player and a great person."
Signing with the Sox out of Venezuela at the age of 17 in 2009, the former Carlos Sanchez (he changed to his first name of Yolmer last year) made steady progress through the system and reached the majors in 2014.
From 2014-16, Sanchez bounced between the White Sox and Charlotte but never lost faith.
"My first three years here, I was up and down, but I always kept working," he said. "I feel really proud of myself for becoming the player I am right now. I know how hard I've worked to get to this point, so I want to enjoy every second."
Sanchez spent his first full season with the Sox last year, and he posted a .267/.319/.413 hitting line with 12 home runs and 59 RBI in 141 games. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder also ranked second in the American League with 8 triples.
"I believe in my talent," Sanchez said. "I believe I can do a lot of things to help us win games. I'm really confident in my abilities, and I just want to show what I can do and that I can play every day."
A natural shortstop, Sanchez is playing every day again this season, splitting time between third base, second and designated hitter.
In addition to leading the White Sox with a .293 batting average, Sanchez is tied for the league lead with 3 triples.
Considering he also is the most capable defensive player on the roster, a strong case can be made for Sanchez being the Sox's best all-around player.
His penchant for having fun on the field and in the clubhouse overshadow his pure ability, but the White Sox finally know what they have in Sanchez.
Even though he is still a young player at 25, Sanchez's offensive and defensive skills figure to be attractive to contending teams at the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline. Having seen Sox general manager Rick Hahn make 11 trades since the 2016 winter meetings, Sanchez is ready for anything.
"You can't control that," he said. "Maybe I'm here today, maybe I'm not. I have really good friends that have been traded, (Jose) Quintana, (Todd) Frazier, Melky (Cabrera), Tommy Kahnle, (David) Robertson. We can't focus on that. We focus on who's coming and who's going to help us win games.
"We're really happy with all of the young talent we have. We know that we're going to be one of the best teams in the league because we have a lot of talent. It's hard at the moment, but we're happy with what we've got."