Freddie Sanchez Day
12 January 2007
(From the April 2007 Senior Bulldogs News)
Freddie
Sanchez (Burbank High Class of 1996)
was honored as the 2006 National League Bating Champion and Pittsburgh Pirates
Third Baseman in a ceremony where his Bulldog Baseball Jersey was retired
January 12, 2007. It took place on our high school field and was followed by a
Gala dinner and auction at the Castaways Restaurant.
Freddie
began his baseball career at BHS culminating in 1996 when he won League MVP
honors during his senior year. After graduation he went on to play at Glendale
Community College where he was Western State Conference Co-MVP and Southern
Division Player of the Year.
In 2000, he
was drafted by the Boston Red Sox and made his Major League debut on September
10, 2001. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2003. In 2006 Freddie
played in his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game and became the first
BHS Bulldog ever to win the National League Batting Championship. The
right-hand hitter ended the season with a .344 average and led all MLB players
with 856,685 write-in votes for the title.
Among his
awards is the Esteemed 2006 Tony Consigliore Award presented annually to a
major leaguer who has overcome adversity through the attributes of
"spirit, determination and courage." The 28-year-old Sanchez was born
with a clubbed right foot and endured years of therapy and corrective
treatments.
His parents
believed he would battle his challenges head-on and encouraged him to compete
as a student and athlete in the Burbank Community.
Their belief
paid off as Freddy came home as a "Hometown Hero" on Freddy Sanchez
Day January 12th.