Alex Sanchez

Alex set six all-time baseball records at UCLA, but he developed his athletic gifts at Antioch High. His senior year of 1984 was a great prep year for Alex: he was 10-2 with a 1.54 ERA including 89 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched. Named first team All-DVAL for three consecutive years and two years as All-East Bay and All-Northern California, Alex led the AHS Panthers to their North Coast Championship victory against Hayward in the Oakland Coliseum, capping a 23-5 season. In basketball he was named First Team All-DVAL and League MVP as well as the DVAL’s top scorer and named AHS’s Athlete of the Year. Antioch later honored Alex by retiring his #23 baseball jersey. He was named by USA Today as one of the top 25 pro prospects and drafted by the Chicago Cubs straight out of high school in the 20th round in 1984, but chose to attend college first on a scholarship. The UCLA years were fruitful. Alex still holds the single season all-time record for 16 wins, set in 1986 during his sophomore year and was named co-Player of the Year in the Pac 10 and to Baseball America’s First Team. Alex’s unbroken UCLA records, set between 1985-1987 include; career total wins (27), career games started (58), career innings pitched (341), all-time career strikeouts (328) and single season games started (23). The 6’2”, 185-pound, hard-throwing right-hander was drafted again in 1987, the #17 overall pick in the first round by the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1989, his best minor league year, he was 13-7 for Syracuse and was named the International League’s Pitcher of the Year. Alex made his major league debut as a starting pitcher against the Minnesota Twins on May 23, 1989. His nine-year pro career included stints with Kansas City, Seattle, San Diego and Oakland’s franchises, accumulating 59 career wins in the minors.