By Mike Besack, Daily Forty-Niner May 7, 1997
The game was tight in the fifth inning when the 49er first baseman stepped to the plate. Nevada reliever Gabe Zappin had just given up the go-ahead run on back-to-back singles, and now a 6-1, 220 behemoth was standing in the batters box.
With a .410 batting average, he is the Big West Conference's leading hitter. Funny, at that size, he doesn't figure to be much of a threat on the base paths- however he runs like a gazelle, and is not afraid to get his uniform dirty.
He's the last person Zappin wanted to see with the bases loaded.
Junior Toby Sanchez peered into the pitcher's eyes as a desert buzzard would at helpless flesh. Zappin's first pitch was a fastball- not inside, or off the plate- but one ballplayers like to call 'chin music.'
The ball pinged off of Sanchez's helmet like a kernel of popcorn does when it explodes from the kettle. A bonk like that would likely knock down many other players. But not Sanchez.
He just stood there. He stared.
"It shocked me. I really didn't anticipate it," he said, insisting that Zappin didn't throw at him intentionally. "I've been thrown at before. When somebody's throwing at you, you know it."
Like it or not, it is part of the game. However, maybe too many players are willing to jump the gun and fling a helmet, bat or fist at the pitcher after a bean-ball. But in the case of Sanchez, nothing could be further from the truth.
Not only is he an exercise in patience, but his is nothing short of the ultimate example of a role model.
In a world where role models are hard to find.
"You can win one way and you can lose one way, but it should always be the same. You win and lose with class," the 21-year-old Sanchez said. "If they choose to [throw at a hitter] it's just low class. If they choose to go that route, they're not going to hurt me."
Nobody is going to hurt Sanchez. Nobody can. He's the biggest guy on the field- but that doesn't matter. He proves undeniably that it is what's inside that counts. With Sanchez, actions do not speak louder than words, they both speak equally.
Wait a second. Toby Sanchez: The ultimate role model? He would sooner snatch a cat from a tree than pluck a $100 bill from one of its branches.
He's unlike other ballplayers. Sanchez marches to the beat of his own drum. After being a highly-recruited infielder at Rancho Santiago College, he moved on to play at Arizona State. He wound up redshirting, and eventually packed the wagon and headed west to The Beach.
Relieved to be at CSULB, Sanchez said he didn't fit in with the bunch at ASU. Maybe it was his long hair and goat-tee, he explained. Or maybe it was his black high tops and socks, or his countless necklaces draped around his neck (from all the girls he's loved before- Julio Iglesias look out). Or maybe it was simply his positive attitude that didn't mesh.
"Very egotistical, very self centered," Sanchez said of the vibe he got from the ASU team. "A bunch of I-guys. When I left [for CSULB] the attitude was that much different.
"Ignorance is so unpleasant," he continued. "When you know yourself, it builds character. When you accept people's opinions when you disagree and learn to forgive them, you normally turn out to be a good person."
Snow knows all about his first baseman's character: "In his own way, Toby is a different guy. He comes out to the field and he wants to be the guy. We like having a guy or two like him."
Aside from leading the conference in hitting, Sanchez also leads the 49ers in each of the three triple crown categories (batting average, home runs and RBIs). Should he keep the pace until season's end, he will become the only player in head coach Dave Snow's nine year CSULB tenure to accomplish that feat.
Forget it, though. Sanchez would totally agree that it is not the numbers that count, but something more.
"It's having composure and having sportsmanship," he said. "If somebody gets away from sportsmanship and having class out on the field, that can't take me out of it. I can't drop down to their level. I try to be a class act in whatever I do and wherever I go."
No problem there, Sanchez is definitely spreading the wealth. He has taken the reigns from his father Pete, who has been coaching for 30 years. Sanchez has served as freshman girls basketball coach and varsity assistant coach at Rosary High School in Fullerton. He is also the assistant varsity football coach at Anaheim's Servite High School.
"I've coached a lot of kids in high school, and I'm a role model no matter where I go, whether I like it or not," he said. "My father was very key in that. I was brought up with a very solid background with my family.
"It has really contributed to my personality of just wanting to have fun, but doing it the right way. It's believing in yourself and having the self confidence, but then also doing it with class."
His ultimate goal is to reach the major leagues ("I don't think anybody stays through 18 years of baseball just because."), yet it seems Sanchez would rather end up a well-rounded individual than end up on a baseball card.
"It's important to become articulate and educated," he said. "The more educated and worldly you are, the more pleasant you are to be around. The best thing you can be is a human being."