Andy Stories

Personal stories about Andy.

Memories of Andy Sanchez

As life goes on, its easy to forget certain events in your life that you once took for granted that they would always be there when you wanted to recall them.  There are a lot of things from childhood we don’t remember that just slip away over time or are there but don’t come back until something shakes them loose.  I had such an experience when I heard of Andy’s passing.

My memory of Andy is mixed with a lot of other memories while growing up in south Chula Vista during the 50’s and 60’s.  For some reason it comes back clearly because it involved sports. These are moments that are clearer than most due to the triumphant or disastrous outcome of a situation that was most likely stressful or embarrassing.  Little League for me was mostly stressful.  My father, Tom Daly was a manager in the South Bay Little League.

I remember being on a minor league team, the Mounties, with my brother Jim.  I recently ran into a member of that team when I joined OMBAC and was cooking hamburgers for a beach horseshoe event.  Carlos Hernandez and I hadn’t seen each other in over forty years since we played ball in the SBLL minors. Carlos told me a story that I had forgotten about.  He was the catcher and had ripped his pants before the game started and my mother took him home and stitched his pants together while he waited with a towel wrapped around him.  He got them back in time to start the game and who knows whether we won or not.

After the minors, my father took on management of the major league Dodgers.  I think Foodmaker was our sponsor and we had green uniforms; which being of Irish descent didn’t bother me at all. Little league topped out after your 12th birthday.  My brother Jim had a year or two left and I was brought along because my dad didn’t want to have us in different leagues. At 10 years old I felt a bit overmatched with the 12 year olds.  Especially when we played the Eagles with John Oliver and some other top players including Andy’s brother, Jimmy.  At 10 years old these guys scared me!  I think jimmy Sanchez was already shaving and was a sure handed shortstop and heavy hitter.

The next year I was 11 and ready to go when baseball season came around.  I’d also played at St Charles Elementary in I.B. and was doing well in the  parochial league covering South Bay schools. When little League started I was looking forward to playing, knowing that the older kids moved on to Pony League.  My dad also got to draft some new players onto the Dodgers and most were in our neighborhood near Fifth and Oxford or went to church with us.  Richie Norgaard was just a house away and Mark Faulk was around the corner. Pat Leonard lived on East Naples and our fathers knew each other from church activities.

Coaching baseball started to occupy more and more of my father’s time.  He studied the game and was a big fan of Ted Williams.  He began developing  practice routines for hitting and pitching both of which required repetition of certain ways to swing and throw.  There was a rubber mat that showed where your feet should be as you stood at the plate and swung at a pitch.  He always invited other kids from the team over to our house to work on their “fundamentals”.  It was more work than fun but we’d play home run derby with the wiffle balls when dad wasn’t around.

My brother Jim had moved up to Pony League and I started the 1962 little league season hoping to have a great year.  I had more confidence after surviving games against the Eagles, Lions, and Cubs as a ten year old. We were an improved team and had a fair number of players my age that came up to the majors. I had the sense my dad was building the team to take the league next season when I’d be twelve.  A couple of the new players were younger than me but ready for the majors in little league – John Cruz and Cecil Wooten.  They were both part of the backyard practices on Fifth Avenue that season.

It was still early in the season when someone on the team dropped out or left town.  I’m a little vague on who it was but it gave my Dad an opening to fill.  Usually someone from the minors was brought up to fill a major’s opening and in the meantime the guys on the team got to play more. I remember we weren’t too concerned about it as there were fewer guys in the dugout when we took the field.

What happened next is something that comes back fairly clear. After the season was underway,  the Dodgers brought up Andy Sanchez from a cap league team instead of someone from the minors. It’s not clear to me how Andy was in caps instead of minors. Perhaps because of his size at eight the league thought he belonged in caps. He must have been  8 years old at the time and minors was mostly for 9 -10. He’d already attracted some attention for hitting home runs in cap league games which was unheard of at the time. Some cap leaguers could barely play and were often made fun of.

I remember the first practice Andy came to with the Dodgers.  We were all a bit surprised.  Andy wasn’t very tall and looked younger than he was because of his size. It made a stir with the parents from the Dodgers as well as other parents who seemed to think it wasn’t right.  The general opinion was that a minor leaguer should have been brought up.

Looking back I’m sure that my father knew Andy’s dad from the North Island Navy Base overhaul and repair shops where they both worked.  I don’t know for sure but I think my dad must have talked to Andy’s dad about calling him up to a major’s team and skipping minors. It didn’t take long for the second guessers and gripers in the stands to stop their complaining.

Being the newest player, Andy came to the plate late in the game substituting for one of the starters.  I remember he was tough to pitch to at batting practice because his height shrunk the strike zone down. Andy  was getting a lot of walks when he went in to our games in the late innings. In Little League there were no leadoffs so you had to stay on base until the catcher caught the ball. Most of us only ran when the catcher missed or bobbled the ball.  Andy was quick and usually stole second base on the first or second pitch.  He had a limited role on the Dodgers his first year  but he made the most of it.

It was about the third week on the team when Andy came into a game the Dodgers were losing by a run.  Some of the parents wondered why he was put in when the game was close enough to win.  He might not have gotten up except one of the batters got on base putting the tying run at first.  Andy came up to the plate and looked at a high fastball and got ready for the next pitch.  It most likely was another fastball because when Andy’s bat hit that ball, it went on a line drive directly over the left fielder who turned and watched it sail over the left field fence.  In baseball parlance it was a “rope” that was still climbing when it cleared the outfield.  Of course, all the team came running out of the dugout and the parents were up on their feet cheering -  the Dodgers didn’t win many games on the last swing of a bat.  Andy Sanchez was the hero of the game and earned a heap of respect from those who wondered whether he was in over his head when he was brought up from the cap league.~ Terry Daly

To the Andy Sanchez Family. My family and the Sanchez family grew up in the same neighborhood in Chula Vista. All during our elementary through high school years we spent a lot of time playing baseball and other sports together. I had the privilege of being a teammate of Andy at South Bay Little League, Castle Park High School and one season at Southwestern Junior College. After college we lost touch with each other but I always kept track of Andy’s professional career. In 1997, we coached against each other when I was an assistant baseball coach at Bonita Vista High School. After our game was over we greeted each other and Andy embraced me as the long-time friends we were. The outpouring of love for Andy by his family, friends and colleagues is a true testimony to the great person Andy was to all of us. May his life be an inspiration for all of us to be better people, to encourage rather than discourage and to always treat others with respect and dignity. As a friend of Andy, I will miss him greatly. God’s speed my friend. CPHS Class of 1969. ~ John Cruz, Chula Vista

I do not recall ever not knowing Andy Sanchez. Since our South Bay Little League days through high school and adult life we were great competitors and team mates. Every time we saw each other there was a strong handshake and warm embrace that only life long friends can have. We always talked about sports, golf and what we were each doing in life. Me in law enforcement and he coaching/teaching. He was a great person, family man and professional educator and only God knows why he has left us. The last time we spoke at the golf course was all about my retirement and he getting ready to and could not wait. I will miss his dearly and I am grateful to have known him all of my life. ~ Rusty Hansen, Chula Vista

I met Andy when we were about 8- 9 years old. We played little league baseball on Palomar and Second ave. in Chula Vista, although at that time there was no streets at all (dirt roads). Later the baseball field was moved to Max Field. We where teammates on the Mounties and the Dodgers in little league. Andy made the all-star team two years in a row. I remember going over to Andy’s house on Palomar to have special instructions from Andy’s father, our coach. Andy was born a leader and a great friend to all that knew him. We went on to play pony league baseball, in 1967 we played on the all-star team that went 17-0 to win the pony league world series in Springfield, Illinois.Andy was the star short-stop and prize- pitcher.we played Pop-Warner football as kids at El Toyon park in National City, coached by Dick Oliver. Andy was the star running back. In football we played jr. midget— midget– pee-wee Pop Warner. Yes, Andy was a first class athlete and a first class guy. I will never forget my friend ANDY ~ Cecil Wooten, Bonita

I was only 4-5 years old when my brother Ray and Andy played together at Castle Park. I stayed up many nights talking with my brothers Ray and Frank about football and the legendary stories from 1968 and 1969. When I look at the news clippings from those days, it was always “Sablan pass” “Sanchez touchdown” “Hermosillo kick”. Castle Park WINS! I know a lot about Andy from just Ray telling me about growing up. Andy’s world series little league team. Andy beats out Ray for 9th grade KING. Andy wins CIF player of the year. Andy goes to college. Denver Broncos try outs to the WFL with Larry Csonka. BULLY’S to Teaching. Andy was one of the most gifted athletes to come out of Castle Park and it’s a trip he is linked to Sweetwater High School just as much. Andy was at Ray and Frank’s funeral. Andy always asked about my mom. On behalf of my brothers, my sisters, my mom: We love Andy and we will miss him, but he will always be in our hearts and on the baseball and football fields!!! ~ Tommy Sablan, San Diego

Some people add so much to the lives of others that they will never be forgotten. Andy was a great friend, rugby team mate, fellow coach, and bartender. With his generous, easy going nature, he gave me a great deal on that wonderful baby blue ford van back in ’74, and always had a great sense of humor and positive outlook. Amazing energy.

Andy had that great quote for the Castle Park players we coached; “You’ve got to look good to play good”. He did it too; I was always amazed at how clean he looked after playing an excellent rugby match while the rest of us looked like hooligan pigs fresh out of the mud. As an athlete he was a joy to watch. As a friend he was one to cherish.

Andy was another great man that we should feel very blessed to have shared time with him on this earth. May God bless him and his family. ~ Karen and  Justin Cunningham, Encinitas