No matter what sport a player is in, it is important to have a positive impact both on and off the field. Anybody can have all the talent in the world, but will be a tremendous liability if they can’t keep their head in check. There are many examples that I would name throughout each sport, including Isaiah Wilson (NFL), Mitchell Miller (NHL), Marion Jones (Olympics), The Velveteen Dream (WWE), Tessa Blanchard in (WWE/Impact/NJPW/WOW), etc. Well a serious situation has occurred recently which has severely effected the career of a rising prospect in the MLB. That prospect is Jake Sanford and, oh boy, when you hear this story, you will just shake your head.
Jake Sanford is a 24 year old MLB prospect who was a part of the New York Yankees prospect pool. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 3rd round, 105th overall in the 2019 MLB Draft. This was the best spot for him as he was once compared to OF Brett Gardner. Gardner was also currently on the Yankees roster at this time and he could have helped teach Sanford, as he was getting older along with his play on the field was on the decline.
In fact, Sanford was a named as a prospect to watch, as he was starting to impress many in the Yankees organization after the past few seasons of disappointment. Sanford struggling in his rookie season and the pandemic definitely did not help matters at all as it shut down the minor league in 2020. In 2021, he showed a ton of improvement with his hitting and defense. In fact, there were talks where Sanford was going to get promoted from the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades to the Double-A Somerset Patriots.
Things were looking up for Sanford as he was about to showcase his promising talent. However, that potential has now been thrown away. Sanford was alleged to have stolen teammates equipment from there lockers and sold it online. Now that is an absolute terrible decision to steal equipment from your teammates and selling it online without there permission. But here is the icing on the cake is that he also scammed fans by taking money in advance for autographed equipment that was never delivered. The allegations were very strong and it is telling that the Yankees just cut ties with him immediately.
It is a such a fall from grace for Jake Sanford. Here was a guy who was compared to Brett Gardner, drafted in the 3rd round of the MLB Draft, was in the best prospect pools in the MLB, a rising prospect in that pool, and was about to get promoted to the Double A league, to being out of a job in the MLB. Now as of today, Sanford signed with the Ottawa Titans in the Frontier League. I really hate to see anybody throw there career away and I hope Sanford can get another shot in the MLB, but I don’t see how another MLB team would even touch him after this. I wish Sanford luck in the Frontier League.
Hello my name is Nicholas and I am a writer for Moore Than Sports. I am a graduate from Farmingdale State College. Currently I am enrolled at Canisius College going for my Masters Degree in Sports Administration. My favorite sports teams are the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Charlotte Hornets, Buffalo Sabers, New York Rangers, and New York Yankees. I enjoy watching sports, analyzing transactions, scouting football players, and of course writing sports articles.
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