Gleyber Torres He left Friday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays in the top of the fourth inning and the decision appears to have been disciplinary by Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
Down 3-2 with one out in the second inning, the second baseman hit a line drive off the left field wall that easily should have been a double had it left the box.
Torres, however, did not run out of the gate as he admired the ball he had hit, possibly thinking it was going to be a home run. The ball, which traveled 363 feet and left the bat at 111 mph, stayed in the ballpark and Torres was stuck at first base with a long single.
Later in the entry, Antonio Volpe He doubled down the left-field line, but instead of scoring easily on the play, which would have tied the game and kept the inning going, Torres attempted to score from first and was thrown out at the plate for the final out of the inning.
As the final out, Torres did not return to the dugout and simply walked to his position at second base to start the third inning. Boone did not let the error that cost New York a run go unpunished, however, as he was seen talking to Torres between innings before Torres was eventually removed from the game.
The timing of the play had people wondering if the decision was disciplinary or injury-related. In addition to sliding into home and being thrown out in the second, Torres made a diving play up the middle in the third that could have caused an injury.
However, the move certainly appeared to be disciplinary and did not occur immediately after the baserunning error because Torres did not return to the dugout after it happened.
Oswaldo Cabrera He entered the game in place of Torres, who finished 1-for-1 in the seventh spot in the lineup.
After the game, both men spoke about the incident and Boone expressed his feelings about the situation.
“At that moment I felt like I had to do it. It’s that simple,” he said. “I hope this is a great learning moment for all of us.”
Boone said he plans to start Torres in Saturday’s game.
To Torres’ credit, he met with the media after Friday’s loss and answered their questions, starting by acknowledging that he should have run out that single and agreeing with his manager’s decision to pull him from the game.
“He didn’t like the way I didn’t run at that moment to second base,” Torres said. “I mean, I think he did the right thing, especially at that moment. I’m very sorry for what I did tonight, especially for the fans and for my teammates. I’m a human being. I made a mistake.”
