Yankees skipper Aaron Boone’s eye-opening admission on Gleyber Torres’ spotty defense
New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres has a history of on-field blunders, often frustrating the team’s fanbase. However, his most recent error was particularly glaring, prompting an unprecedented level of outcry from fans.
During the top of the third inning in Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Torres mishandled an easy pop-up behind the infield. Instead of catching the ball above his chest, he attempted to catch it at his waist and ended up dropping it, as reported by @JohnnyHoey on X.
“Gleyber Torres can’t get off the Yankees fast enough,” one fan remarked. “If this is how he plays in a contract year, how hard will he play after a new contract?”
This sentiment is difficult to refute. Players typically put in extra effort during contract years to impress, yet Torres leads all second basemen with eight errors.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone expressed his frustration with Torres’ Little League-esque blunder, as reported by SNY.
Gleyber Torres can’t get off the Yankees fast enough. If this is how he plays in a contract year, how hard will he play after a new contract? pic.twitter.com/S5mqBhCjam
— John Hoey (@JohnnyHoey) June 7, 2024
Yankees manager Aaron Boone defended Gleyber Torres, saying, “He’s as good a pop-up catcher as we’ve had. Every time he goes to catch one, I go ‘ahh’ because it’s not how I’d do it, but he’s really good at doing it. He missed a play today. I get how it looks sometimes with Gleyber. Reality is the last month he’s played really good defense. Nobody talks about a lot of the plays that he makes.”
Boone is known for passionately defending his players, sometimes to a fault. While supporting the clubhouse is important, it can alienate fans when they feel he never confronts or corrects the players.
Is Boone right, or is he not being hard enough on Torres? This question divides fans and analysts. Boone’s approach could foster player confidence and team unity, but it might also give the impression that underperformance and mistakes are not addressed adequately, frustrating fans who expect accountability. The answer likely lies in balancing support with constructive criticism to maintain both team morale and high performance standards.
Aaron Boone on Gleyber Torres' dropped pop-up tonight:
"Every time he goes to catch one, I go "ahh" because it's not how I'd do it, but he's really good at doing it. I get how it looks sometimes with Gleyber. Reality is the last month he's played really good defense" pic.twitter.com/Rnnft3xk8t
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 8, 2024
Torres has shown promise through the years, but his Yankees future is in trouble
The seventh-year skipper continued to elaborate on why people don’t give Torres enough credit.
“The times he does make an error, it doesn’t look like the guy that’s diving in front of it…so I understand that happens sometimes, but you’ve gotta parse it out a little bit and see what actually is happening,” Boone said. “The reality is the last month of defense from him has been really solid.
A couple really good plays tonight, a really good double-play turn. He dropped a pop-up, that’s how he catches pop-ups. Not necessarily how I’d do it, but he’s really good at catching ’em, actually…I don’t want it dropped, but you know, it does happen. I can’t recall going back six or seven years when he’s dropped a pop-up. He catches them like that a lot. It’s how he slows the game down a little bit, and I get how sometimes it looks to people.”
While Torres typically makes the play, his error-prone nature can’t be ignored. Despite Boone’s defense, Torres was ninth in the league last year with 15 errors, showing a pattern. It would be wise for Torres to practice proper pop-up catching techniques before it’s too late.