Typically, when they do the player introductions at the All-Star Game, the pitchers and catchers are locked in on one another.<\/p>\n
There is barely any acknowledgement to the crowd.<\/p>\n
When the Philadelphia faithful roared for Phillies ace Cristopher S\u00e1nchez, the camera panned toward the bullpen. S\u00e1nchez stood near the edge of the mound, patting his chest with his right hand.<\/p>\n
He smiled. He took in the moment.<\/p>\n
Then he saluted.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust a sign of respect to the fans,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cA little payback for all the love that they gave me on such an important day, both for me and for the fan base.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was not the cleanest inning S\u00e1nchez has pitched this season.<\/p>\n
Not close, especially. <\/p>\n
The left-hander entered the All-Star Game with a 2.62 ERA through 20 starts, one of the best first halves in baseball. He struck out Mike Trout to open the game, then ran into trouble. A couple walks. A pair of Yankees (who were boo’d nonstop), Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice, laced run-scoring hits. <\/p>\n
A rare three-spot at home for Sanchez.<\/p>\n
At one point, it looked like National League manager Dave Roberts was ready to get him.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez wanted one more hitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wanted me out of the game at that point,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cBut I asked for one more hitter because I wanted to get through the inning. Luckily, he let me have that one more hitter, and I was able to get out of that first inning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The line will not be what S\u00e1nchez remembers most.<\/p>\n
He became the first Phillies pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2011, and the first to do it in Philadelphia since Curt Simmons at Shibe Park in 1952. He did it in his home ballpark, in front of the fans who have watched him grow from interesting arm to rotation anchor to one of the National League\u2019s best starters.<\/p>\n
It meant something before he ever threw a pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuper excited,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cMyself coming from La Romana, back home in the Dominican Republic, coming from basically nothing, it means a lot. It means a lot to me, this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez has talked often this season about the work behind his rise. Tuesday night gave him a different kind of confirmation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a sign that we\u2019ve been doing things the right way,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cAll that hard work paying off.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first inning got away from him, but he said his stuff did not feel far off.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven with a couple walks right there that I had, I felt fine,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cThrew a couple good pitches, but this is the day we have to enjoy, take it all in, enjoy it with the fans as well. Felt good nonetheless.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was asked which hitter stood out.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the best hitters that I faced today was Mike Trout,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cI struck him out, so that\u2019s a good sign that everything was going up for me today.\u201d<\/p>\n
The All-Star Game is part competition, part celebration, part baseball summit. Pitchers talk. Hitters talk. Players trade ideas they might not get anywhere else.<\/p>\n
Halladay, the last Phillies pitcher to start an All-Star Game before S\u00e1nchez, famously learned a cutter from Mariano Rivera at an earlier All-Star Game. S\u00e1nchez was asked if anything like that happened for him.<\/p>\n
He smiled around the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cI\u2019d say a lot. I learned a lot, but for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
He declined to say exactly what he picked up. But he did say he spent time with Chris Sale and Paul Skenes.<\/p>\n
That is a worthwhile pair for S\u00e1nchez.<\/p>\n
Sale is built a lot like him. Both are listed at 6-foot-6 and 200 pounds. Sale\u2019s fastball has long been one of the toughest pitches in the sport because of his angle, deception and extension.<\/p>\n
Skenes brings a different menu. The sweeper. The splinker. The kind of power arsenal that has made him one of the game\u2019s most watched arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in touch with Chris Sale and had a little conversation with Paul Skenes as well,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cLearning a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
That might matter later. It might not. S\u00e1nchez was not giving away details.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCristopher Sanchez met with the media after his making his first-career start in the MLB All-Star Game.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
For now, the bigger picture was the first half that put him there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been really special, what we\u2019ve been able to do,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cThe focus and the hard work that we\u2019ve done. But the best thing is still to come. Keep it going for the next half and try to make our ultimate goal, which is to make a deeper run in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez called the entire experience “incredible.” He got to share it with his parents. He got to start the All-Star Game in Philadelphia. He got to stand in a clubhouse full of superstars and listen.<\/p>\n
\u201cSharing love with the parents and how joyful they are with us, that\u2019s part of this experience,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cAnd also sharing the clubhouse with the superstars, it\u2019s just an amazing thing to do. Learning from each one of them has been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is now on in a prestigious group of Phillies pitchers to start an All-Star Game.<\/p>\n
“It feels great to be on that list,” he said. “And that only motivates me to be even better, both as a player and, more importantly, as a person, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The inning was not perfect. The moment did not need to be.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez had already earned it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always wave to my family,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cThey\u2019re always in the stands, watching my game. That\u2019s just a person that I have. I always say hi before the game.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Typically, when they do the player introductions at the All-Star Game, the pitchers and catchers are locked in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":935937,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[41],"tags":[149325,1266,64094,35360,62,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-935936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-cristopher-sanchez","tag-mlb","tag-phillies-analysis","tag-phillies-news","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116922400547981012","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=935936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/935937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=935936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=935936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=935936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}