How Yankees’ Gleyber Torres is savoring his probable last hurrah

— The walk from the Yankee Stadium players' parking lot to the home clubhouse has been sentimental for Gleyber Torres during this October playoff run that is two victories away from a long-time-coming World Series.

During the American League Championship Series showdown between the flawed Yankees and more-flawed Guardians, Torres says he's not thinking about what could happen this winter, what probably will occur. But he knows the last grains of sand in his Yankees' hourglass are falling.

Because the end to this long chapter in Torres' career probably is near, he now treasures slipping his game jersey over his shoulders, especially the home pinstripes, but the road one with New York spelled out across the chest, too.

"Go to the ballpark every day and see Yankee Stadium, see the fans support me, see my teammates, see the coaches," Torres said this week. "I'm just really peaceful and grateful. I just try to do the best I can do to bring a World Series here and hopefully win it together."

In good times and bad, when Torres was playing shortstop and after his necessary move second base, when he was in his All-Star seasons and during his benchings for bad defense and not hustling, he's loved being a Yankee as much as Aaron Judge, Juan Soto ... anyone.

"Maybe it's going to be my last year," Torres said. "I really enjoy everything and to be around my teammates every day. I'm just really grateful. I don't see those guys as teammates. I see those guys as family, the entire organization.

"They gave me so much. They helped me so much from '16 when they traded me (when I was in) in the minor leagues. This could be my last year, so I'm really enjoying everything."

RESTORING THE GLORY

Torres was costing himself tens of millions.

And then while everyone piling on — especially Yankees fans and the New York media — Torres got hot, stayed hot and salvaged his season.

The Yankees beat the Guardians 6-3 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven battle for the American League pennant. Judge finally joining the postseason party with a put-away homer in the seventh, his first of the playoffs after 58 in the season, was the big story of the night.

But the Yankees were ahead for good by the first inning, and it was Torres setting the table for a 1-0 lead with a leadoff double off Guardians ace Tanner Bibee. It was Torres scoring the first run when Cleveland's rookie shortstop Brayan Roccio dropped Judge's two-on, nobody-out popup on the day he was named a Gold Glove finalist.

Torres wound up with a three-hit night for a .292 batting average, a .533 on-base percentage and .933 OPS in six postseason games, five of them Yankees wins.

His error total this month?

Nada.

Torres has been great, terrible and all things in-between during his seven Yankees seasons. He was their second biggest star, their present-day Soto, in 2018 when he hit 38 homers in his first full season. He had a couple of great seasons, good ones and bad ones.

There were times early on that Torres made you think he'd someday have a plague in Monument Park. There were others when you thought the Yankees have to get rid of this guy, when he wasn't hitting or didn't have his head in the game.

Now in the middle of October 2024, Torres is thriving as the Yankees' leadoff hitter. Two more wins and they'll be in the World Series for the first time since 2009.

Torres' mind is in the right place. He's savoring this run, which probably will be his last as a Yankee. Despite all of his inconsistent roller-coastering, he's back to being a productive big leaguer with All-Star potential. He'll be young for a free agent, too, just 28 come December. Some team probably is going to offer him a lot more than the Yankees, who will be focused on trying to re-sign Soto.

"I don't want to talk too much about free agency," Torres said. "I just want to play the season. During the season, it was a struggle, I don't want to say a struggle because I think too much about free agency. I tried to do the right thing and nothing happened at the moment.

"Sometimes I'd think, 'If I don't do (better), maybe I'm not going to sign here and I'll go to some other place.' But I didn't feel any pressure at the moment.

"Thank God I did (better) in the second half, close to the playoffs. I'll just try to (keep it up) and worry about free agency after the season ... and hopefully after the World Series."