Jake Sanford is lying on a table getting stretched out by an athletic trainer and his mind is racing. It’s been a whirlwind day already and, at this moment, the 21-year-old is thinking to himself, Am I in the right spot or am I lost?
On the table to his left is Aaron Judge, while fellow New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is receiving treatment on the table to his right. It’s June 2019 and the sluggers are both rehabbing injuries at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. Once the team trainer finishes with Judge, the six-foot-seven star hops off the table and approaches Sanford, extends his hand and introduces himself. “Hey, I’m Aaron,” he says. “Congrats on being drafted.”
Sanford flashes a nervous smile: “Thanks,” he says. “I think I know who you are.”
Earlier this same day, the lefty-hitting outfielder from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, learned he’d been selected by the Yankees in the third round of the MLB Draft (105th overall), with a signing bonus of $597,500. He enjoyed a quick, surprise champagne celebration with his college teammates at Western Kentucky University before being whisked away to Tampa by the Yankees to sort out paperwork for his visa and undergo a physical.
Being greeted by Judge and Stanton on his first day in the organization is about as grand a welcome-to-the-Yankees moment as the Canadian can imagine. You couldn’t blame him for dreaming about a day when he won’t only share a training room with Judge and Stanton but also a dugout. After all, the world feels as if it’s opening up in front of him.
Three and a half years later, though, that introduction to life in pinstripes remains the peak of Sanford’s time in professional baseball. Addiction issues sent the young outfielder’s career — and life — into a tailspin. Now, at 25, he’s starting over in baseball, desperately clinging to the hope of one day getting back on a clear track to the bigs.
“When Jake got drafted that day in June, that was the best day of his life,” says his father, Tim. “And the worst day of his life. All in one. Because we did not see what was coming from that.”
Sanford, who grew up three streets over from Sidney Crosby’s family home and about five minutes from Nathan MacKinnon’s, played hockey from a young age but also loved baseball, soccer, tennis and volleyball. Outgoing and athletic, he excelled at everything he tried. “It didn’t matter who he was playing,” says his dad. “If there was a game going on, he’d find himself in it somehow.”
As he grew older, Sanford felt a pull toward baseball and by the time he was 16, he’d decided to tailor his training to the sport. “He was so focused on what he wanted and what he needed to achieve,” says his mother, Karina. “He started going to the gym every day and eating good stuff. His whole body changed. It was very visible to me that he was really dedicated to becoming a baseball player.”
One obstacle in Sanford’s way was Nova Scotia’s short high-school baseball season, which meant his development lagged behind top North American players. Nonetheless, his talent shone through, a fact that was underlined just before his 18th birthday with an invite to Rogers Centre in Toronto for the Tournament 12 (T12), a showcase for amateur Canadian players.