Sanchez talks patience, nail maintenance and his future in Toronto Blue Jays starter sits down with TSN’s Scott Mitchell to discuss what he learned during a season lost to blisters, adding to his pitch arsenal and how fatherhood has changed him.

The past 12 months for Aaron Sanchez have been eventful. From his well-publicized blister situation that resulted in the 6-foot-4, 215-pounder throwing just 36 innings during the 2017 season to welcoming his first child to the world over the winter, it’s been a life-changing year for the 25-year-old right-hander. I sat down with Sanchez recently to chat about everything from his 2018 campaign thus far to who he lets touch his fingernails to where he sees himself in five years, and everything in between in a wide-ranging Q&A session.

Are you kind of where you expected to be and where you wanted to be at this point in the season?

Yeah, um, for sure. I felt like it was a good test coming out of game one for me and for my body with being out for so long. I hadn’t really pitched in front of a crowd like that, my adrenaline’s kind of never been that high, probably since playoffs in 2016. It was definitely a good gauge to kind of see where I’m at. I had a few starts in cold weather and it gave me the opportunity to kind of stay within my delivery and not really worry about how hard I needed to throw. It gave me the ability to locate and incorporate some off-speed, so I think I’m right where I need to be and can only continue to get better. Good start for me, but, obviously, I feel like I can be better and that’s what the plan is for the remainder of the year.

What did you learn during your time off last year?

It’s hard, man. Patience, really. Patience is a virtue. It’s just tough. You come to the ballpark every day hoping to just get a little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit better … when that doesn’t happen, times get a little bit frustrating. Just being patient. I wouldn’t say I needed any help in the teammate department, but you really fight for guys a little different knowing that you can’t be out there, hoping that they can kind of keep us in the loop and give us a chance to be in striking distance in terms of where we want to be when I’m ready (to return). They did a really good job of that and I just never seemed to kind of get over that hump. That part was frustrating, too, but the biggest thing was understanding patience.

Your manager, John Gibbons, and I talked about the fact it seems like you’re pitching a little bit more rather than throwing this year. Would you agree with that?

Yeah. I’ve got to give Gibby a lot of credit, too, because in spring training we emphasized the changeup and it was something where he’s like, ‘It’s not going to be there the first day if you don’t throw it. Now’s the time to throw it in situations where you can only learn game experience from.’ He made me throw it when I was in starts. He said he would want an X amount of those in an inning, and if I didn’t get there, there was going to be a problem. He really forced me to throw it and it turned out to be a really good weapon for me. To be able to go out there and have two pitches, for sure, possibly three, it may look like I’m more of a pitcher, but I feel like even before I was always a pitcher, just with a little bit different stuff.

What’s your favourite memory in a Blue Jays uniform so far?

Man, there’s so many. I’ve been a part of so many good things here. You can go the Jose Bautista bat flip; you can go the back-to-back ALCS. Some of my fondest moments were popping champagne with the fans here in the stadium, but I’d have to say my favourite moment in a Blue Jays uniform would be in 2016, Game 162, kind of having to win to get in and throwing six no-hit innings and it being Big Papi’s last day (in Boston) and so much commotion going on there, and just being able, for myself, to stay in the moment and understand what we needed to accomplish that day to get where we wanted to go. To have that feel from my teammates and from the country and from the fan base after that start, it just felt good. Everybody was behind you and you could feel the love, and it gave us a chance to have home-field advantage in a win-or-go-home (wild-card) game where having last outs is super huge.

What should people know about your hometown, Barstow, Calif.?

There’s one high school. You can get from one side of the city to the other in 20 minutes. We’re known for Del Taco. We’re also known for the halfway point between L.A. and Vegas. Population: 18,000. Um, not really that big of a city but it’s all good. It’s home.

Have you ever made the drive to Vegas?

Yeah, all the time. Growing up, they used to have Supercross in Vegas in May. It was like the finale of the Supercross season and that was something we used to always do yearly as a family and it was fun. I used to have baseball tournaments out there here and there so I made the trip quite often. It’s easier for me to kind of fly into Vegas nowadays, so I stop there quite a bit.

You’re the first major leaguer from Barstow …'

Kinda.

Kinda?

Danny Norman was the first player. Expos back in the 1980s or late 70s, early 80s. Dino Ebel, third base coach for the Angels. So he’s been to the big leagues but as a coach. In the last 25-30 years, I’m the only one born there.

Barstow City Council named Oct. 20 Aaron Sanchez Day. Have you ever attended?

I did it that first day and got a plaque for it. It’s not anything like a birthday where I celebrate it every year. They recognized me on that day, kind of like a hometown hero thing and that was all she wrote. It was super humbling to kind of have that impact on the town like that.

What part of your uniform are you most finicky about?

I think comfort, really. I’ve gotta feel like I can move out there. It’s my day of freedom and I’ve gotta feel like things aren’t too tight, things aren’t too long and I’m not restricted in certain areas. Just comfort, whether it’s my shoes, pants or jersey. I need to feel free.

So you’re a Mark’s Work Wearhouse guy over designer clothes?

I’m super simple. I mean, when I have to, I will, don’t get me wrong. When it’s time to look good. If you’re giving me the choice, it’s about comfort.

What’s usually going through your mind when you see John Gibbons sauntering out of the dugout to pull you from a game?

Usually, I’m just like, ‘Naw, he’s just coming to talk to me.’ I try to trick myself into thinking that he’s just coming out here to tell me to cool it or do something, he’s not taking the ball. My job as a starting pitcher is to go out there and eat up as many innings as I can. If it’s later in the game, I have no problem with it. When it’s early in the game, and I feel like I haven’t done my job, I have a problem with it. It’s only within. They’ve gotta do what they’ve gotta do and they see things differently than we may feel. As a competitor, you always feel like you can get that next guy and, sometimes, it’s better off that they take that ball from you.

Who’s your funniest teammate?

All time?

Yeah.

All time has to be (Munenori) Kawasaki. Man, that dude’s hilarious.

What about currently?

Probably (Yangervis) Solarte. He’s a blast. That guy is nothing but good energy. He’s having fun all the time. The funniest part about him is he can act the way he acts and he still comes out here and plays hard for nine innings.

You pranked Lourdes Gurriel Jr. when he got his first hit in New York, pretending to throw the baseball into the stands. Did it work?

No. Because Josue Peley, our translator, I could see in the video behind me, I tried to catch it and he was standing to my left, so it was close enough to where it looked like I caught it and threw it, and then you can see in the video behind me, him jumping up like a kid in a candy store that he just got the ball. I’m like, ‘Yo, you just killed the whole prank.’

Do you go for regular manicures at a nail salon or do you tend to that yourself?

I go for pedicures regularly. I don’t let anybody touch my hand anymore. Kind of learned the hard way. I do have a family friend who does nails, so I will let her touch it, but that’s the only person I will ever let touch it.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

Well, hopefully, in a Blue Jays uniform. Who knows what the future holds with that. Hopefully, continuing to be one of the better, premier starters in the game. That’s always been my goal and my mindset when I started this game. I want to be the best and I’m going to work my hardest to be that. Who knows, man? Five years is a long time and a lot of things can happen, but, hopefully, I’m healthy and having a good career. I’ll take it day by day.

You’ve had a bit of a winding road to get this point. Was there ever a time you thought you’d end up in the bullpen for good?

When I came up to the big leagues, I came out of the ’pen because I didn’t have enough innings, so they had seen me there. At the start of 2015, I left spring training kind of not really feeling how Aaron Sanchez felt. And then when I came back from the DL, because I missed a month, I came back in the ’pen and my numbers were again really good. In 2016, I go into spring training and I kind of made a point to management, saying, ‘I want the opportunity to start.’ I knew who I was and what I was capable of doing, I just needed the opportunity. Selfishly, I told them, ‘Hey, I want the opportunity.’ I kind of thought for a second there, yeah, I might (end up in the bullpen) but I made it a point to myself that I was going to fail numerous times in this game as a starter before I ever said, ‘Okay, that’s my calling.’ At the time, I was 23 years old in the big leagues and I would feel like I’m wasting my talent if I stayed down there. Yeah, I was helping the team and doing a lot of good things for our ballclub and organization, but at the same time, you saw in 2016 you can get that for seven to nine innings on any given night. That’s what I knew I was capable of doing, I just needed the opportunity.

You were a pretty good hitter in high school. Did you ever want to be Shohei Ohtani before Shohei Ohtani?

Ummm … of course everyone wants to be Shohei Ohtani in terms of hitting and pitching in the big leagues, you just never really see it going that way. I felt like it was one of those things where you kind of had to pick one or the other in terms of what you wanted to do. I think, for me, there was a fork in the road and a point in my life or age or career where it was either pick hitting or pick pitching and I kind of knew what it was. When I made that decision, I was okay with it, but, yeah, I think it’d be super awesome if I got the chance to hit on a regular basis.

What does Aaron Sanchez do on a day off in the city of Toronto?

He sleeps in. He hangs out with family for the majority of the day. He eats a ton. He likes to get massages. He’s just a simple, low-key guy with not a lot going on.

Congratulations on your first child, Ace Jacob. How has fatherhood changed you?

He’s a looks like an Ace. He’s a stud, and it’s the best time of my life. I’ve had nieces since I was seven years old so I kind of grew up with infants and children and young ones around me my whole life, so I kind of knew what to do, but now that it’s mine and my responsibility, the joy it brings me on a daily basis is unimaginable. The love that you felt like you could never have you have for this one little human being. It’s honestly the best. The best gift ever.​