Pittsburgh Pirates

FREDDY SANCHEZ Burbank High; third baseman; Pittsburgh Pirates: Prior to this year, the most games the Burbank High graduate played during a major league season was 20 in 2003 when he was called up to the Boston Red Sox. With limited experience, Sanchez had logged just 41 games in three seasons with the Red Sox and Pirates. So, with that kind of track record, many wondered how the infielder would hold up if he was ever given the opportunity to play as an everyday player.

Jeff Tully Freddy Sanchez felt secure as a baseball player in the Boston Red Sox organization. Since being drafted by Boston in the 11th round of the first-year player draft in 2000, the former Burbank High and Glendale Community College star felt like a well-cared-for son in an organization that had nurtured and cared for him for three years. However, his association with the club was severed last week when Sanchez was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, ending his ties with an organization he had grown to respect.