Is Gary Sanchéz Ready For Fame?

After his record-breaking streak of 20 home runs in 201 at-bats in 2016, Gary Sanchéz is touted as the New York Yankees’ top hitter for the season. His .299 average is considered a threat to his opponents, and his entire team has placed their bets on him. The whole organization has high expectations for his upcoming games, placing a lot of pressure on his shoulders.

Image source: bleacherreport.net

Unlike other players, Sanchéz actually prefers serenity over a celebrity status, even if it seems impossible now that he’s with the Yankees. The 24-year-old is expected to have skyrocketing fame, thanks to his incredible skills. While the Dominican native is bound to be a household name in the next few months, he believes he still has a lot to learn—particularly the English language. He still relies on a translator during press interviews and has been attending English classes since being drafted eight years ago. Yankees fans believe his time is coming, but Sanchéz remains grounded, despite his hard-earned status in the game.

Is Sanchéz ready for fame? It seems he’s aware of how the game would change his entire life, but even if he gets too famous, it doesn’t look like he’ll transform into an attention monster. Fans believe he’ll just focus on his skills to make his team one of the greatest in the game.

Image source: nydailynews.com

Hi, I’m Judd Bergman, a retired photographer based in New York City. Aside from taking beautiful pictures, I am passionate about the Yankees. Visit this blog for more about photography and baseball.

The Many Wonders Of Yankee Stadium

Sure, if you're a baseball fan you're likely heading to Yankee Stadium to watch the best team on Earth play ball (the Yankees, of course -- accept no substitutes). But if you're a true Yankee fan, you know that there's more to love about the stadium apart from the fact that it's Yankee headquarters. Need convincing? Try these reasons on for size:

SOURCE: wikipedia.org

i) There are some excellent eats at the stadium - Crackerjacks and hotdogs are all fine and dandy but there's nothing quite like Parm's delectable and filling chicken parm, Brother Jimmy's BBQ's truly wonderful pulled pork sandwiches, or the dry-aged steaks of NYY Steak.

ii) You can hope to be the next Freddy Schuman - Until he passed in 2010, fan and legend Freddy "Freddy Sez" Schuman was the Yankees' unofficial promoter. He was known for banging on a frying pan with a shamrock on it to bring the team luck and for encouraging the team and fellow fans with handpainted signs.

SOURCE: esquire.com

iii) Yankee Stadium was pretty innovative - The old stadium was the first ever three-tiered sports stadium in the country. It was also the first to take advantage of an electronic scoreboard and instant replay monitor (the latter came much later).

iv) Sinatra's "New York, New York" is a bit of an anthem in the stadium - It used to be that Frank Sinatra's iconic song was played over the speakers whenever the home team won and Liza Minnelli's when they lost. Naturally, Minnelli took umbrage and told them to play hers after the Yankees won or not at all. These days Sinatra's version is played, win or lose.

v) It's a gorgeous example of architecture. - The original was an icon of post-modern construction. After its redesign by architectural firm, Populous, the new Yankee stadium pays tribute to the original with a beautiful limestone and granite façade and by retaining the old stadium's recognizable frieze, while being outfitted with the most modern amenities.

These are just some reasons why Yankee Stadium is one of the most amazing places in the planet but perhaps you should really just check it out for yourself to confirm!

Retired photographer Judd Bergman divvies up his time between photography and baseball, specifically New York Yankees baseball. If that's also up your alley, follow this Twitter account to get quick updates on his interests.

No More Love? Yankees Jerseys No Longer Popular

For the first time in history, the New York Yankees jersey is no longer a top-selling item at the League’s official online shop for the first half of 2016. Experts say the iconic blue stripes uniform has become less popular because of the team’s recent lackluster performances; a sharp contrast to how the team performed when Derek Jeter was still on their roster. Several other players – mostly from the Mets and Red Sox – made the list, with David Wright, Noah Syndergaard, and Jacob deGram scoring relatively high.

 Image Source: shop.mlb.com

However discouraging this seems, many New York Yankees fans are not worried. Every team suffers its highs and lows, and these last few years have not been our best.

 Image Source: hotstovemlb.com

This doesn’t mean that the Yankees haven’t been playing well; by all means, they are still a superior team. Yet this media-driven society yearns for a superstar. Team cohesion is not as visually exciting as a star player.

It sounds cynical, but all sports go through some sort of media onceover. I am not going to deny that the Yankees are not as great as they once were, but any sports fan would see how rigorous their training is and the quality of their players. There is just something lacking, I suppose. There is no spark, no fire. From my point of view, the Yankees are more a team now with equally performing players. This, I feel, is another factor why no Yankee jersey made the list.

I believe that in a few years and gentle patience, we will once again see the Yankees rise to its former glory.

Hi! I am Judd Bergman, an avid Yankees fan. I am now a retired photographer and spend most of my time writing about my hobbies and passions; most of which I share on this YouTube account.