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It is almost strange, really, how Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres has repeatedly managed to shoot himself in the foot every time things seem to start going his way. For the second time this season, Torres landed in hot water with manager Aaron Boone in Friday’s frustrating 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays, ending their five-game winning streak.
The problem stemmed from a rocket off Torres’ bat in the first inning, part of a resurgence he has had at the plate. But rather than steaming into second for a double, Torres stood and admired the hit, thinking it would be a home run. But it hit the wall, and Torres could manage only a single.
When Anthony Volpe knocked a double two batters later, Torres came around from first base — he should have been on second — but was thrown out at the plate. Boone, rightfully ticked off, pulled Torres from the game and benched him.
Boone said he spoke with Torres about the situation. Torres accepted the punishment.
“I have to get better,” Torres said, via The Athletic. “And I feel really sorry for whatever I do [Friday], especially for the fans and also for my teammates. I’m a human being. I made an error and I feel like whatever I do [Friday], I’m going to learn a lot. I just want to compete with my teammates. I want to play great and [be] 100% for my team.”
Yankees’ Aaron Boone: ‘People Don’t Know the Whole Story’
Boone was diplomatic about the situation, implying that perhaps something else is going on with Torres that the public does not know. He suggested that the team won’t have much trouble moving on.
“Everybody is going to make judgments on this guy, that guy. The reality is I have a ton of grace,” Boone said. “A lot of people don’t know the whole story on every situation and what guys are dealing with, and I think it’s one of the more overrated things – defining a player who plays hard or not.”
It is not the first time the Yankees had issues with Torres’ lack of hustle over the past seven seasons in New York.
Earlier this season, in an ugly loss to the Mets, Torres was mired in a slump. He struck out with nobody out and the bases loaded in the first inning, failed to stay in front of a grounder with a runner on third and the infield playing in during the sixth inning, and did not hustle up the line on a ground ball he hit in the eighth inning.
Torres got a talking-to from Boone after that game, too.
Gleyber Torres Has Been Hot Lately
What’s especially unfortunate for Torres is that, after a miserable start to the season, he has begun to break out of his slump. Over his last 25 games, he is batting .287, with a .349 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .436.
Torres was batting .215 on June 25, but he is up to .233 through August 2.
He has the support of Yankees captain Aaron Judge, who noted that after Torres was benched, he did not sulk, nor did he hide out from reporters after the game.
“Getting pulled in a game like that and for Gleyber to come back out, to be there on the front step, be at the fence cheering the guys on, speaks volumes of the type of guy he is deep down,” Judge said, via the New York Post. “That’s a tough situation. … He could’ve ran and hid, saw you guys tomorrow. He was out there front and center.”
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