A Yankees rookie is already being compared to Babe Ruth

Gary Sanchez has impressed just about everyone since his since call-up earlier this month. And that includes the Seattle Mariners, who intentionally walked him twice on Wednesday.

The intentional passes came after Sanchez homered in the first inning and doubled in the fifth. That kind of respect for a guy who has played a grand total of 21 major-league games is nearly unheard of, and it resulted in quite a compliment from Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, who was hitting behind Sanchez on Wednesday. From ESPN.com:

"Shoot, if Babe Ruth is hitting behind him, you intentionally walk him," Teixeira said. "I mean, he is as hot as any player I have played with in my entire career. You just don't see guys doing what he is doing. I don't care how old he is. …

"What's his pace -- 100 home runs? It is something crazy. Like I said, it is not like he is just getting the bat on the ball. He is hitting home runs 450 feet. He is crushing balls."

In his first 19 games in the majors this season, Sanchez is hitting .389/.450/.847 with nine homers, six doubles and 16 RBI in 72 at-bats.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi also is gushing about the 23-year-old rookie catcher.

"I've never seen a young player come up and do what he's doing in nine years as a manager," Girardi said, according to the team’s website. "This is pretty remarkable, what he's doing."