The Yankees might not be where they were Tuesday, playing in Game 2 of the ALCS, without Gio Urshela.
The infielder has not played a game for them in three years, but Gleyber Torres still counts him among his best friends, and they spent the All-Star break together at the facility they co-own in Tampa.
Torres was in the midst of a brutal contract year in which he was batting .231 with a .654 OPS — a shell of the hitter he was in 2023 — with concerns swirling around in his head about what it all might mean for his future.
Gleyber Torres, who had three hits, rips a double during the first inning of the Yankees’ 6-2 Game 2 win over the Guardians on Oct. 15, 2024.Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
So with Urshela by his side — along with a personal hitting coach who knows his swing well — Torres spent the break trying “to fix everything in three days.”
Urshela told Torres he was rolling over too much, hitting too many ground balls to shortstop and third base.
The point was that when Torres is at his best, he is hitting the ball to the opposite field, which became the focus of his work at “The Lab” — which may have doubled as a mental break, too — before he returned to The Bronx.
“This season is [long] and sometimes really stressful,” Torres said Tuesday afternoon before getting another three hits to help lead the Yankees to a 6-3 win over the Guardians in Game 3 of the ALDS. “Just go to my city, Tampa, see my friend and just do different workouts a little bit better as a player. You just forget a couple things about baseball, just enjoy and try to feel the same feeling [as] you felt before. Then when you get back to playing, just try to do the right thing.
“Something happened in the second half, like I found myself, and I just really enjoy it.”
Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres walks out of the batting cage during batting practice.AP
In 61 games after the break, Torres returned to the hitter the Yankees were banking on him being, batting .293 with a .780 OPS.
Along the way, manager Aaron Boone bumped Torres back up to the leadoff spot where he has become a consistent force in front of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, both in putting together long, quality at-bats but also being aggressive and pouncing on pitches with which he can do damage.
That has carried over into the postseason, with Torres reaching base 10 times in 25 plate appearances through his first five games.
Braves third baseman Gio Urshela (9) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run.USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
“For sure sometimes I [thought], ‘If I don’t do right, maybe I’m not going to sign here, I go to some other place,’” said Torres, who has consistently said he wants to be a Yankee for life, as unlikely as it may be. “But I don’t feel any pressure at the moment. I just feel pressure on myself to do the right thing because the last two years I’ve been playing good, decent, and this year is one of the most important years for my career.”
The 27-year-old second baseman said he appreciated Boone for keeping him in the lineup throughout his struggles and helping him believe in himself.
There was a two-game benching at the end of June and another game in early July when Boone pulled Torres mid-game for not hustling on a fly ball that he thought was a home run.
But through all of that, Boone continued to be one of Torres’ biggest supporters, which did not go unnoticed.
“[When] your entire organization believes in you, don’t trade you in those moments, they keep you, and they show you the love, you have to figure out a way to get better and help the team,” Torres said.
Sitting in his office on Tuesday afternoon, Boone chuckled at how many conversations he has had with Torres — a player who doesn’t always allow his talent to shine through consistently — over the years.
But Boone also spoke about him like a proud father.
Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela (29) and second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) walk back to the dugout during a 2019 game.Bill Kostroun/New York Post
“I guess I’m just proud of his perseverance, because nothing about this year has been easy for him,” Boone said. “Getting pulled out of a game, not playing the way he expected the first half of the season.
“It can get noisy here and guys can crumble. He’s pushed through and become such an impact player for us here in the final couple months. There’s a lot to be said for that.”
Source : nypost.com
