August 03, 2024 - BY Admin

Yankees' Gleyber Torres benched after baserunning mistake against Blue Jays

Gleyber Torres 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 laced a line drive off the left-field wall that should've easily been a double had he busted out of the box.


However, Torres did not sprint out of the gate as he admired the ball he hit, possibly thinking it was going out for a home run. The ball, which traveled 363 feet and came off the bat at 111 mph, stayed in the ballpark and Torres was stuck at first base with a long single.


Later in the inning, Anthony Volpe hit a double down the left field line, but instead of scoring easily on the play, which would've tied the game and kept the inning going, Torres tried to score from first and was thrown out at home plate for the final out of the inning.


As the last out, Torres didn't go back to the dugout and just went to his position at second base for the start of the third. Boone would not let the mistake that cost New York a run go unpunished, though, as he was seen talking with Torres in between innings before Torres was ultimately pulled from the game.


The timing of the move had people confused if the decision was disciplinary or related to an injury. Aside from sliding into home and getting tagged out in the second, Torres made a diving play up the middle in the third that could've caused injury.


However, the move certainly appeared to be disciplinary and didn't happen immediately after the base running gaffe because Torres did not go back to the dugout after it happened.


Oswaldo Cabrera 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 on the incident with Boone giving his feelings on the situation.


“I just felt like in that moment, I felt like I needed to do that. Simple as that," he said. "Hopefully this is a great learning moment for all of us.”


Boone did say 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 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 in that moment to second base," Torres said. "I mean, I think he did the right thing, especially in the moment. I feel very sorry for what I did tonight, especially for the fans and to my teammates. I’m a human being. I made an error.”