Brian Lee Sanches (born August 8, 1978) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

. In 1996, Sanches graduated Nederland High School in Texas where he played baseball, basketball, football, and ran track. Sanches attended

Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, t ...

in Texas where he played for the

Lamar Cardinals Baseball The Lamar Cardinals baseball team represents Lamar University and competes in the Southland Conference of the NCAA's Division I after officially rejoining the conference on July 11, 2022. The team is coached by head coach, Will Davis following ...

team.

Career

Kansas City Royals

He was first drafted by 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 expa ...

as a 2nd round pick in the

1999 Major League Baseball Draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

and later signed with them on July 6, 1999. Sanches made his professional debut in 1999 with Single-A Spokane. While there, he struck out a career-high 11 batters in 6.0 innings pitched on August 27, 1999 versus Boise. He pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher w ...

on May 2, 2000 for the Single-A

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

versus the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

. Sanches spent the 2001 season with the Double-A

Wichita Wranglers The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals fr ...

. While playing with Wichita during the 2002 season, he notched 10 wins. From July 1 to August 1, he won 4 consecutive decisions. In 2003, Sanches went 1-0 with an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Com ...

of 1.83 with the Wranglers. Later that year, Brian (along with Chris Tierney) was traded to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

for

Rondell White Rondell Bernard White (born February 23, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and designated hitter. As well as being a solid defensive player, White also had a batting ave ...

Philadelphia Phillies

Sanches was then traded to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

in 2004. He pitched for Reading (Double-A) during 2004 while posting a 1.98 ERA. He earned Minor League Player of the Week honors from June 28 to July 4. Sanches was promoted on August 26 to Triple-A Scranton, where he finished the season. He pitched the entire 2005 season for Scranton while holding left-handers to a .212 average and allowing just one home run in his first 29.0 innings pitched. Sanches was a non-roster invitee to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

. He began the season with Scranton, but finally made his major league debut on June 1, 2006, pitching 2.0 innings and giving up one walk and three strike-outs. Sanches was shuffled to and from the majors during the rest of the season. After Francisco Rosario was placed on the 15-day DL, Sanches was recalled from Ottawa on June 17, 2007.

Washington Nationals

He signed as a free agent with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

on December 21, 2007. He appeared in 12 games with the Nationals in 2008, with a 7.36 ERA.

Florida Marlins

In November 2008, he signed with the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

. In three seasons with the Marlins, he pitched in 147 games with a 10-5 record and 2.92 ERA.

Second stint with the Philadelphia Phillies

He signed a minor league contract with the

on November 30, 2011. After opening the season with the AAA

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in th ...

, he was placed on the Phillies' active roster on May 1 following the injury of reliever

David Herndon Kenneth David Herndon (born September 4, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies. Career Minor leagues The 6'5", 230 pound Herndon was originally drafted ...

. He posted a 0–1 record and 11.25 ERA in 3 games before returning to the IronPigs ten days later. On June 28, Sanches was called back up by the Phillies along with

Jeremy Horst Jeremy M. Horst (born October 1, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He attended Iowa Western Community College and Armstrong Atlantic State University. The Cincinnati Reds drafted him in the 21st round of the 2007 Major Le ...

, to replace Chad Qualls, who was designated for assignment. He was outrighted to Triple-A on July 17. On July 31, Sanches was released by the organization.

Houston Astros

On August 2, 2012 Sanches made an agreement to join the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

organization with Triple-A

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

Return to Royals

The Kansas City Royals announced on November 16, 2012 that they had signed Sanches to a minor-league contract for 2013. No financial terms of the deal were revealed.

Pitching style

Sanches relies mostly on four pitches. His primary pitch is a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is ...

in the upper 80s, which he uses for about half his pitches. Against left-handed hitters, he relies heavily on a

forkball The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-finger fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard, snapping the wrist. The forkball differs from the split-fingered fastball, however, in th ...

and somewhat less on a

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

to round out his repertoire. Against right-handed hitters, Sanches uses a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * ''The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * S ...

as his main off-speed pitch, and he also throws the forkball to righties. On rare occasions, Sanches throws a mid-90s

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curv ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanches, Brian 1978 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Texas Columbus Clippers players Florida Marlins players Jupiter Hammerheads players Lamar Cardinals baseball players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City RedHawks players Omaha Storm Chasers players Ottawa Lynx players New Orleans Zephyrs players Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Phillies players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Spokane Indians players Sportspeople from Beaumont, Texas Washington Nationals players Wichita Wranglers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players