Inside The Pinstripes

Gleyber Torres Hits One For His Mom, Snapping Home Run Drought

New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres ended a lengthy drought by hitting a home run in a win over the Washington Nationals on Mother's Day at Yankee Stadium

Max Goodman

NEW YORK — Snap a lengthy drought with a timely home run and do something special for your mom on Mother's Day? Not a bad day at the office for Gleyber Torres.

Stepping into the box in the sixth inning on Sunday afternoon, Torres hadn't homered in his last 148 at-bats dating back to last season. Pouncing on a 2-0 sinker from Nationals right-hander Joe Ross, Torres turned on one, sending a no-doubter to the left-field bleachers. 

As the ball sizzled off his bat at 109 mph, destined to come down 411 feet later, Torres pumped his fist. 

"I think it's more of an exhale, a little bit of a relief to get that out of the way," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "The reality is he has been getting a lot of big hits for us and holding his own, he just hasn't really clicked hitting for power yet. And that'll come, but it was really good to see him get a really good swing off."

Torres' last regular season homer came on Sept. 17, 2020. His lack of power throughout each of the last two seasons has been a topic of conversation for quite some time. 

Remember, Torres crushed 38 home runs in his sophomore season, launching 24 as a rookie in 2018. Now, the 24-year-old has the monkey off his back. His teammates, mobbing him with congratulatory high fives and hugs in the dugout, knew what the big fly meant to the shortstop. 

"You know how bad he wanted it," Giancarlo Stanton said. "You could tell in his reaction. So it's good he got that first one out the way and now they should flow."

Torres' solo shot gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the sixth, the second game in a row between these two teams that came down to the final out.

On Saturday night, it was Torres that delivered the walk-off hit—an infield single with the bases loaded in the 11th inning. This time, it was Stanton, lining a single through the left side.

In other words, not only was Torres able to finally put a number in the home run column for this season, he was instrumental in helping New York win for the second game in a row. 

"I'm happy," Torres said after the game. "Finally I got one. I mean, I feel like I hit it at a really good time for the team today."

Going deep on Mother's Day made the home run even more special for Torres.

"I'm just so happy to hit one for my mom," he said. "Before I leave the house, I tell [my mom] I'll do something right for you. So I'm just coming to the ballpark with that mentality and when I do that, some good things happen."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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