Gleyber. Damn...
He was going to resurrect us, restore us, save us. He came from the Cubs, part of the 2016 trade deadline package deal (with Billy McKinney, another future star!) for Aroldis Chapman, whom we'd later sign as a free agent - a triple bank-shot Yankee steal. There were we - using market size, history and advanced scouting metrics to execute a perfect heist.
On April 22, 2018, Gleyber Torres ascended to the Majors, then ranked by Baseball America as the game's No. 6 prospect, and wearing Mark Teixeria's prestige number 25. He'd been hitting .347 at Triple A Scranton. The tabs christened it "Gleyber Day." The Yankiverse debated John Sterling's looming HR call - (it later became, arguably, his worst: "Like a good Gleyber, Torres is there.") That day, though he went 0-4, we all believed the world had changed, and the juju gods were with us. Gleyber Torres had arrived. He was 21.
He made the all-star team that July. The following year, he hit 38 HRs - sixth highest total in the MLB - with 90 RBIs. He ranked as one of the best defensive 2B in the game. You foresaw a lifetime Yankee, with plaques in Monument Park and Cooperstown. His future had no limits.
Then came the Covid half-season. He arrived out of shape. Worse, the Yankees wanted him to play SS, to finally replace Derek Jeter. That miserable year, 2020, he hit .243 - 30 points below his first two seasons, with only 3 HRs. Moreover, he bombed at SS, eventually forcing a return to 2B. In 2021, his power stroke had vanished. He hit 9 HRs, batted .259 - baseline numbers that never changed.
So, we all know what happened yesterday:
The Tigers signed Torres for a one-year, $15 million, "show us what you got" deal - a surprise to no one, as the Yankees had shown him the door since Game 5.
He's 28, coming off a fine second half of 2024, after shitting the bed for the first four months. His exit had long been sealed. For two years, the Yankees shopped him in trades. Nobody bit. Now, he's got a shot in Detroit. A good season and, who knows, maybe he can return to NY. Steve Cohen likes ex-Yankees, especially those with something to prove.
This I know: Sometime this summer, Gleyber will stride to the plate in Yankee Stadium, and the crowd will rise. Scattered cheers will merge into a thunderous cascade, and the fans will chant his name. It is our greatest moment, when Yank fans remember a former son. We will cheer him, as loudly as we can, considering our broken hearts.
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16 comments:
The Yankee fans will forget how much of a piece of crap he was for the last four years. Very similar to this past November when the American people forgot how big a piece of crap....well, you know what I mean.
NGL, I’m glad he’s gone.
The kid has talent. No about that. Highly impactful when his head was in the right place. A total mess when it wasn't. Could he field 2nd base? Yeah, he did, until he didn't. He absolutely crushed baseballs, until, you know, he didn't. He sulked at the bottom of the order, taking his BA with him, until he was restored to the top of the order and blossomed again.
He rarely got hurt. But whether that was from loafing, good conditioning or lucky genetics, I'm not sure. That he did so, with the Yankee training squad around him, is a miracle.
So why did he lapse so badly? Yips? Lack of focus? Mind-f#@k-ed by the Yankees staff? Intimidated by the bright lights of the big city or the gremlins in his mind?
Here's hoping he works that out and the world is told how he did it. Good luck, Gleyber. Put it back together and show them what you are worth!
The greatness. The lameness. The dumbness. The spacy-ness.
We'll miss one out of four. But good luck to him, except when he's playing against us.
Burnes decided to go home, back to Arizona. We never had a chance, and it looks like we never tried. That's one way to beat rejection.
No comment on Gleyber. Nope. Never. Can’t see….. myself doing that. I’d bobble any attempt to do so. I’d run out….of ideas. I’m feeling kinda distracted anyway. 2025. Best year yet. You’ll see (even if it’s a tad blurry). Time for some freshly brewed coffee.
I wish him shelter from the storm
A blazing fire to keep him warm
I wish him heath. I wish him wealth.
I'm glad he's gone.
When the ball is hit to second (or short on a double play) I want guys who play the ball, not the other way around and snap throw it to first.
No disrespect but he never felt like a winner.
Since we're chatting about infielders, my money is on the Mets signing Bregman. The only 2 other logical spots being Boston and Detroit. And they'll also re-sign Alonso and have a killer batting order. It'll amplify the difference between an owner who wants to win while making a ton of money and building the value of his brand and an owner that only cares about making a ton of money.
Nothing like a great cup of freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee.
And.....in the immortal words extracted from the criminally underrated film, Men in Black 3 :
"This coffee tastes like dirt."
"What do expect, it was ground this morning"
Thank you very much. Remember to finish your JOE before you GO.
Well put, Peerless Leader. And amen, Carl Weitz.
Bleacher Report released its grade for the 2018 draft class after six years. Not surprising the Yankees got an F.
First-Round Pick: C Anthony Seigler (1-23)
MLB Players: RHP Franklin German (4-127), OF Brandon Lockridge (5-157), LHP Josh Maciejewski (10-307), 1B Mickey Gasper (27-817)
No demographic has a higher bust rate than high school catchers, and Anthony Seigler is just one in a long list of catchers who have never reached the majors. He actually played primarily second base in 2024 and showed some signs of life at the plate, but he is now part of the Brewers organization after departing in free agency.
The four players from this draft class who did reach the majors have logged a combined minus-0.4 WAR in 34 games.
Grade: F
AA...Your mention of MIB brought a flashback from about 20 years ago when I met Linda Fiorentino at a restaurant in Westport. My friend and I ate at an outside table on a warm summer night. A few minutes after we were seated, a party of about 10 was seated next to us, with the tables being very close together to accommodate as many tables as possible. This tall, sultry brunette sat at the end of her table right next to me, and I said, " Aren't you...." before I could continue, she says' Yes, I am." She was one of the most down-to-earth people I've ever met. Funny, smart-ass, and intelligent. We spent about 90 minutes goofing on the wait staff and talking about everything from politics to sports ( She was a big Phillies and Eagles fan growing up in the Philadelphia burbs and an unapologetic liberal). I don't know her status now, but she had been divorced for several years at the time. She would have agreed if I had asked for her number. But I chickened out. Oh well, LOL.
So glad that Gleybor is gone. It isn't logical to feel that way until he's replaced by someone better. But watching him play with his mind on who knows what was infuriating. I still say that game five was decided by his nonchalant play of a ball thrown in from the outfield. Too lazy to keep his body in front of the ball lead to disaster....
I say the same, Kevin—though I thought that was Game 1. Was there another play in Game 5?
Wow! Ah, you probably would've been too nervous during the date anyway. But what a great experience!
You hit the nail squarely on the head..exactly, Horace!
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