“He Takes Pride in His Work”: Aaron Judge Defends Gleyber Torres’s Recent Blunder Against the Blue Jays

After being one of the best hitters for the Yankees, Torres’s recent blunder might have erased all the good memories. In Friday’s game, Gleyber Torres didn’t run for a second, mistakenly taking his hit as a homer. This vanished the team’s dreams when the Yankees looked to go past the Baltimore Orioles in AL East. Currently, the Yankees are tied with the Baltimore Orioles regarding the win-loss and PCT. The Bronx Bombers have a winning percentage of .586 and a record of 65-46 that could have changed with a win over the Toronto Blue Jays. 

However, looking at Gleyber Torres’s recent 18-game record, he seemed mediocre. He was slashing at .159/.247/.318/.564 and had a few blunders on the field. Recalling a game from May 2024, Torres’s decision to turn around and not take a run led to the inning-final timeout. Similarly, the Yankees second baseman made the same mistake that gave the Blue Jays a win of 8-5 at the Yankees stadium. Perhaps, even after Torres’s blunder on the field, Aaron Judge had the back of the 26-year-old Pinstripes second baseman. 

Aaron Judge shared his stance on Gleyber Torres’s misfield against the Jays

Right in the fourth inning, Yankees manager Aaron Boone pulled out Gleyber Torres, citing it as a ‘lack of hustle.’ Reflecting on the incident and supporting Torres, the Yankees captain Judge said, “If I know Gleyber, something like this ain’t going to happen again. He takes pride in his work and his craft. He’s definitely not happy about what happened. I bet you the rest of his career, something like this ain’t going to happen again.” In the second inning, Torres belted the ball toward the left field and stayed in the batter’s box admiring his hit. However, the ball landed in the ballpark, and Torres managed to get only a single on his hit. 

“For one second, I thought it was a homer,” Torres told the reporters after the game. Indeed, the ball traveling 363 feet smashed from a bat at 111 mph; most of the batters would have thought of it as a home run. Also, later in the innings, Anthony Volpe struck a double down towards the left field. However, instead of scoring on the play that could have tied the game, Gleyber attempted to score from the first. Eventually, this made him out of the home plate contention, and he was declared the final out player of the innings.

Still, before Gleyber Torres was taken out, he had a discussion with the Yankees manager Aaron Boone. Afterward, the 25-year-old Oswald Cabrera took control of the second base position, replacing Gleyber. Also, aside from backing Torres, Aaron Judge played his part in Friday’s game. He smashed his 40th homer of the season with a two-run blast in the first innings against Kevin Gausman. It was a 477 ft. homer and the third largest of Judge’s glittering MLB career. Even more, despite the blunder of Torres that made the Yankees lose, their upcoming schedule might spark hopes for the 2024 MLB playoff spot. 

The Yankees upcoming schedule might give them a playoff spot boost

Unarguably, the last couple of months for the Yankees have been rough. A team on the top of the leaderboard with a PCT of above .600 lost their way since June. They lost series against the Boston Red Sox, and Bay Rays, and with their key players like Gerrit Cole getting injured, the Bronx Bombers struggled big time. However, with a recent win over the Phillies and some over the Red Sox, it seems they are getting it together. 

Leaving the past, the month of August might be an easier pathway for the Yankees. The Yankees will play their next 27 out of 33 games against teams that have a winning percentage below .500. Browsing the teams, they will be the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, and the Texas Rangers. Still, in August, the Cleveland Guardians might be the team that the Yankees might find tough. Currently, the Guardians have an impressive PCT of .615 and are sitting on top of the AL Central MLB leaderboard. 

Rest, for the Yankees offense that looks dependent on Soto and Judge, Jazz Chisholm’s addition has strengthened it further. Against all odds, he became the first player in MLB history to slam four homers in three back-to-back games. Altogether, despite Torres’s blunder, Boone still choosing him to stay at the second base might indicate his trust in the All-Star. As of now, the Yankees will play against the Blue Jays next up on Saturday. Perhaps, with free agency looming for Torres and with 33 matches remaining, each game might be a crucial one for him with Chisholm Jr eying for the 2B spot in the Yankees.