Posted on: Saturday, January 5, 2002
Yankees high on Sardinha
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Bronson, left, youngest of the Sardinha brothers, is in the Yankees organization. Dane, middle, is in the Reds farm system, while Duke attends Pepperdine.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser |
A little more than seven months after playing in high school, Bronson Sardinha finds himself ascending quickly in the professional ranks. And with one of the most storied teams in baseball.
The two-time Advertiser all-state infielder at the Kamehameha Schools has been invited to an instructional camp for the New York Yankees' top prospects. He leaves tomorrow for the Yankees training site at Tampa, Fla.
The Yankees made Sardinha the 34th overall selection in the June 2001 first-year player draft. He signed a $1 million bonus.
"I'm stoked," Sardinha said. "I'm ready to go up (to camp)."
Frankly, Sardinha will be the envy of Yankees fans. Yankees, such as shortstop Derek Jeter and newly acquired first baseman Jason Giambi, are expected to drop by for early workouts, even though training camp does not officially start until next month.
"It's going to be fun," Sardinha said of the camp. "I won't be too shocked with everything. I'll try to challenge them, actually. Hopefully, I'll learn a lot from them."
Like Jeter, Sardinha is a shortstop. Asked what he would do if he got to workout with the Yankees' all-star, he said: "I'd just watch and follow what he does, see how he carries himself around. He'd be a good example for me."
The Yankees obviously are high on Sardinha, as he is the only player from the Yankees' 2001 draft invited to the camp.
Sardinha spent the summer playing in the Gulf Coast League for rookies. He batted .303 in 55 of the team's 60 games. He hit 14 doubles, three triples and four home runs. He scored 42 runs and drove in 27, and stole 11 of 13. He was named to the GCL all-star team. Baseball America ranked him the third-best prospect in the GCL.
Other prospects joining Sardinha at the camp are third baseman Drew Henson, who was paid $17 million to give up a football career at Michigan to concentrate solely on baseball; first baseman Nick Johnson, the Yankees' top prospect a year ago; outfielders Marcus Thames and Juan Rivera; shortstop Erick Almonte; and left-handed pitchers Brandon Claussen and Alex Graman.
The Yankees canceled fall instructional league in wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A Baseball America article said that the Yankees believe the individual instruction the eight will receive would be better served than if they had attended instructional league.
"It's for the players we will invite to major league camp," Yankees' farm director Mark Newman told Baseball America.
Sardinha will remain in Florida until spring training opens. Although assignments will be made after spring training, Sardinha said he will likely be assigned to Tampa, the Yankees high single-A club.
Sardinha, 18, is the youngest of three baseball-playing brothers. Dane, 22, completed a season at class-A Mudville (Stockton, Calif.) in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Duke, 21, will enter his junior season at Pepperdine, where he is pegged as the starting third baseman.
Dane was a second-round pick in the 1999 draft, signing a major league contract in lieu of a signing bonus.
Duke turned down a $100,000 bonus from Colorado, which picked him in the 42nd round. He was a draft-eligible sophomore because he red-shirted as a freshman.
