Athlete Blog: Tony Sanchez

Tony Sanchez here, Pittsburgh’s newest Pirate.

I wish there was a way to explain the passed couple weeks that I’ve had, but honestly, words do it no justice. From getting drafted in a position that I would of never thought was possible, to flying into Pittsburgh and having my very own press conference, to watching a Pirates game in the General Managers suite, to celebrating the Penguins Stanley Cup Championship on the streets of Pittsburgh-It has all been unbelievably surreal.

But as fun as it all has been and for as long as I have been on cloud nine, it all stops now and back to work I go. My summer vacation was cut short by about two and a half months and I’m writing to you now from Pirates City in Bradenton, Florida. It’s where I will spend 3-4 days working out and practicing and getting back into the grind of baseball. After I finish here I am flying to West Virginia to play for the Pirates Low A team, The Power, until they go on their all-star break. Once the Power goes on their break, I will be flown out to State College, Penn. to play a few games there and get more at bats instead of just sitting in West Va.

After I play in State College, the Pirates are flying me out to Wichita, Kansas to attend the Johnny Bench Award Ceremony. I am one of three finalists and the opportunity to win the Johnny Bench award is such an honor that I have to be there. I really hope I win the award but the other two finalists are extremely talented and put up some great numbers for their teams this year. We’ll just have to wait and see. After the weekend in Wichita I finally get to fly back to West Virginia and start to develop a routine and settle down. It’s going to be an extremely hectic couple of weeks but this is all what I want and all that I signed up for.

I wanted to thank everyone for stopping by to read my blog and always remember that hard work really does pay off.

By Tony Sanchez

Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB Catcher