Gerardo Sánchez

Note: This page discusses 1980s-2000s Mexican League star Gerardo Sánchez. For the 2012-2023 minor league pitcher of the same name, click here.

Manuel Gerardo Sánchez (Polvorita)

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born March 10, 1962 in Guasave, Sinaloa Mexico

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Gerardo Sánchez was a long-time player for the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo (1983-2001) and set the Mexican League record for consecutive games played. Despite being an outfielder, Sánchez was never one of Mexico's premier offensive threats.

Sánchez debuted with Nuevo Laredo in 1983, hitting .217/.264/.292 only. He improved to .294/.325/.408 in 1984 then hit .277/.328/.390 in 1985. In 1986, he batted .293/.332/.44 with 9 triples and 88 runs. The next year, he hit .271/.330/.377. In 1988, Sánchez posted a .311/.377/.441 batting line. Gerardo hit .320/.403/.462 in the 1989 campaign and stole a career-high 19 bases.

The right-handed batter hit .261/.340/.381 in the 1990 season and .307/.402/.491 in 1991 with 22 home runs and a career-best 98 runs. He still failed to crack the top 20 in home runs or average. In 1992, Sánchez batted .296/.378/.400 with 23 home runs, the highest total of his career, tied for 15th in the Mexican League.

Sánchez hit .290/.363/.465 with 89 runs, 18 home runs and 88 RBI, easily the best of his career, in 1993. In 1994, he hit .267/.347/.403. His best batting average was in 1995, when his batting line was .323/.436/.460; he was also hit by 19 pitches that year. In 1996, Sánchez hit .288/.422/.406 with a career-high 88 walks. That year, he played in his 1,167th consecutive game, breaking Rolando Camarero's record (1968-1976). His last .300 season came in 1997 when he batted .303/.368/.413. The Owls outfielder hit .293/.381/.396 during 1998. For the first time since 1987, Sánchez missed a game, ending his consecutive game streak at 1,415. It happened under unusual conditions. He and four teammated had opted to fly from Villahermosa to Mexico City while the rest of the team took a 10-hour bus ride. Due to forest fires in the region, smoke ruined visability at the Villahermosa airport, closing the facility and stopping all flights, meaning Sánchez would be unable to play.

In 1999, he batted .275/.395/.419. At age 38, the veteran contributed a .284/.394/.418 line, slipping into part-time duty and failing to play 100 games for the first time since 1984. He hit .210 in 2001 and played for the Mexico City Tigers in addition to Nuevo Laredo. He briefly made a comeback in 2003 but hit just .182 for Puebla.

Through 2000, he had hit .289/.369/.422 in 2,122 Mexican League games, with 340 doubles, 199 home runs, 1,228 runs and 1,066 RBI as a model of consistency and stability. He was 13th all-time in games played, 10th in at-bats (7,774), 7th in runs, 7th in hits, 13th in doubles, 13th in RBI, tied with Bobby Prescott for 17th in home runs, 18th in walks (873), 7th in total bases (3,278) and third in times hit by pitch (143).

After retiring, Gerardo Sánchez became a manager in Mexico. He was voted into the Salón de la Fama in 2010 with two other outfielders, Derek Bryant and Alonso Téllez.

Sánchez was a coach for the Tigres de Quintana Roo in 2012.

Sources

• 1999 Baseball Almanac
• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros
• Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database

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