After the Yankees completed their sweep of the Twins earlier this week, Aaron Judge had a message for the world.
Judge made a short speech and gave Gleyber Torres the ceremonial wrestling belt that the players award to one of their own after each win. Judge, one of the team’s unofficial leaders, then praised the 22-year-old phenom to any member of the media who would listen.
“Man, he’s the next Yankees great for sure,” Judge said.
After Game 1 of the ALCS, it’s tough to argue with that prediction.
Astros fans will be having nightmares about Torres after his historic performance Saturday night. The Yankees’ scorching-hot second baseman went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double and five RBIs. He’s now the youngest player in American League history to drive in that many runs in a playoff game.
It was an all-around performance from a guy who is somehow already a complete player before his 23rd birthday. He drove in the runs, and at one point he even threw someone out from the seat of his pants.
The final score was 7-0, but make no mistake, this game started as a pitcher’s duel. Zack Greinke looked really good for most of his six innings of work, except when he had to face Torres.
Once again, Torres showed himself to be one of the most clutch hitters in all of baseball. His first double was a gapper that gave the Yankees a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The homer he hit in the sixth inning broke Greinke, who then shortly after gave up another bomb to Giancarlo Stanton before being pulled between innings.
Ryan Pressly had the misfortune of being the next guy to pitch to Torres, and he had the misfortune of having to do it with the bases loaded and two men out, a situation that almost seems designed for Torres’ clutch DNA. The decisive pitch on a full count was low, but the Venezuelan star adjusted and somehow got the end of his bat on the ball. It dropped into right-center field and blew the game open.
But Torres is not just pure talent. He took advantage of a throw home to take second on what should have only been a single. He has that rare combination of instinct and physical talent that only the best of the best possess.
This felt like a coming-out party. Torres lit up the Twins, too, but doing it against the Astros seems more monumental. This is one of the developing stars of the game showing us that he has what it takes to be the difference during the sequences when championships are decided.
We’re looking at the latest off the line of Bronx Bombers who live and breathe for the big moment. Players such as Derek Jeter, Reggie Jackson and Mariano Rivera became legends by producing in Game 7s and in the World Series. Give Gleyber a chance, and he might just do the same.
The expression that someone “has ice in their veins” is tossed around so much that it has become cliche. But it applied to those heroes of Yankees teams past, and it applies to Torres. He’s so calm in such nerve-wracking moments, you start to wonder if he’s actually some kind of baseball-destroying robot instead of a human being.
And there’s no reason to believe that he’ll slow down anytime soon. Manager Aaron Boone moved Torres from the sixth spot in the lineup to the third for Saturday’s game, and it really couldn’t have worked any better. It seems like a safe bet to assume that he’ll be hitting third again when Justin Verlander takes the mound for Game 2 on Sunday night.
Verlander has had a tremendous season, but he looked shaky when he gave up four early runs against the Rays in Game 4 of that series. If Verlander is not at his absolute best, Torres will probably victimize him just like he has been doing to pitchers all season. He’s in the type of form that can carry a team to a championship. No one is safe.
Torres was still in the minor leagues when the Astros beat Joe Girardi’s Yankees in seven games back in the 2017 ALCS. He’s here now, and that could make all the difference.
You can follow Alex on Twitter @AGreenberg22. Warning: He tweets a lot about soccer.
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