Mariners Prospect Victor Sanchez Suffers Fractured Skull
The worst kind of sports news is injury news. The worst kind of injury news is life-threatening injury news. Yet that’s what we’ve got today, as Seattle Mariners prospect Victor Sanchez has suffered a pretty horrible injury in his native Venezuela.
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Greg Johns has most of the details. Sanchez was swimming at a beach in Carupano, Venezuela when he was struck by a boat. The accident resulted in a double skull fracture, for which Sanchez has already undergone surgery. Forget concerns about the 2015 season – Sanchez is reportedly “fighting for his life.” This is a lot bigger than baseball.
Perhaps you recognize Sanchez’s name from this post a couple days ago about minor leaguers who could force their way onto the MLB roster at some point in the not-so-distant future. Sanchez is a 20-year-old righty starter who signed with the Mariners for $2.5 million as a 16-year-old. His rise through the M’s system has been speedy and eye-catching, to say the least.
At six feet tall and weighing 255 pounds, Sanchez is something of a beast on the mound. He’s got a good repetoire and pounds the bottom of the strike zone. Last year as the second-youngest player in the AA southern league, he ran 7 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9. He’s an exciting prospect on the fast-track to the majors. It was expected that he’d report to minor league camp and probably head to Tacoma, where his starts would generate excitement and attention.
But that’s on hold. There are more important things at stake right now, obviously. Sanchez has long been a favorite prospect of mine, someone I’ve followed since his first pro ball action. He’s a favorite prospect of a lot of people, really. All we can do now is hold our breath and hope for the best. And even that might not be enough.
It’s humbling, crippling, and terrifying when something like this happens, even to someone you’ll probably never so much as meet. I don’t know Victor Sanchez, yet I’ve spent the last day actively worrying about him. Worrying for him. Maybe you saw the news yesterday and have felt this same sick uneasiness. Never mind that Sanchez is a gifted athlete trying to help my favorite team win a championship. This hurts because he’s a human. Humans aren’t supposed to get their skulls broken by boats.
Here’s to a full recovery. Here’s to no more kids getting injured in horrible accidents. Here’s to Victor Sanchez, legit prospect and MLB hopeful. Here’s to hoping for some good news in the near future.