Alex Anthony Sanchez (born April 8, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989.

Early life

Sanchez was born in Concord, California and attended Antioch High School. In high school, he was named A-East Bay and All-Northern California for two years. '' USA Today'' named Sanchez one of the top 25 pro prospects, and he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of high school. Sanchez elected to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) instead.

College career

At UCLA, he set a single season all-time record for having 16 wins in one season in 1986. He was named co-Player of the Year in the Pac 10, and first team All-America by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' in 1986. After the 1986 season, 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 ...

with the Harwich Mariners of 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 ...

and was named a league all-star.

Professional career

Sanchez was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1st round (17th pick overall) of the

1987 Major League Baseball Draft The Major League Baseball Draft is the process by which Major League Baseball (MLB) teams select athletes to play for their organization. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professional cont ...

. He was named International League Most Valuable Pitcher in 1989 while playing for the Syracuse Chiefs. He played for the Blue Jays for the 1989 season. On September 24, 1990, Sanchez was traded to the Cleveland Indians. He was traded back to the Blue Jays on November 6, 1990. Sanchez signed with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

in 1992 and played with their minor league affiliates until 1993. In 1994 and 1995, he played with the minor league affiliates of the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Awards and honors

He was inducted into the Antioch Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Personal

Sanchez was high school teammates with

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

pitcher Jeff Pico and PGA Tour golfer Larry Silveira.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Alex 1966 births Living people All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball City Royals players Baseball players from California Calgary Cannons players Edmonton Trappers players Greenville Bluesmen players Harwich Mariners players Knoxville Blue Jays players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chicks players Myrtle Beach Blue Jays players Omaha Royals players Pacific Suns players People from Antioch, California St. Catharines Blue Jays players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players UCLA Bruins baseball players category:Wichita Wranglers players