Yankees’ Gleyber Torres Explains Postseason Success From Leadoff Spot

Gleyber Torres revealed how his mindset while batting leadoff has contributed to the Yankees’ success in October.

Oct 10, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) raises his hands to fans following a win over the Kansas City Royals during game four of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees enter Thursday just two wins away from clinching their first American League pennant since 2009.

But while Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton garner much of the attention in the Yankees’ lineup, the team’s offensive success in October truly begins with Gleyber Torres.

Torres, 27, has manned the leadoff spot in each of New York’s first six postseason games, posting a .292/.433/.500 batting line with a 170 wRC+ and scoring seven of the team’s 25 runs.

In Tuesday’s 6-3 ALCS Game 2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians, Torres led the Yankees’ 11-hit performance, going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. When asked about his success in the leadoff role before the game, the second baseman emphasized the importance of playing without ego and maintaining selective aggression at the plate.

"I think egos and personal numbers stay in the regular season," Torres told YES Network reporter Meredith Marakovits. "The key for us is to be aggressive, but if you don’t get a pitch you can do damage on, just pass the baton."

Gleyber Torres on leadoff success in the postseason:

"The key for us is be aggressive... but if you don't get a pitch you can do damage on, just pass the baton." pic.twitter.com/AAIGDt8C8X

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 15, 2024

MLB Network noted that since moving to the leadoff position on August 16, Torres has registered a .319 batting average, .393 on-base percentage, and scored 38 runs. However, his 2024 contract year did not always appear to be going smoothly.

Before the All-Star break, Torres was hitting just .231 with a .654 OPS, a significant dropoff from the .273 average and .800 OPS he achieved the previous year. According to a feature story by Greg Joyce in the New York Post on Wednesday, Torres credits his second-half turnaround to former Yankees teammate and close friend Gio Urshela, who trained with him in Tampa during the break, trying to "fix everything in three days".

Urshela helped Torres recognize that he performs best when hitting the ball the opposite way and that he had been rolling over, hitting too many ground balls to the left side of the infield. This mental reset allowed Torres to simplify his approach in the second half, leading to a .293 average and .780 OPS over his next 61 regular-season games.

"His patience has been excellent while also, we’ve seen him many times go up there first pitch of the game and rifle a pitch for a hit," manager Aaron Boone told reporters pregame on Tuesday. "It’s like that aggression that you want, but also the ability to have a deep at-bat because he’s not chasing, he’s not expanding. He knows what his job is in front of those big guys, so he’s definitely been a tone-setter for us."

Torres is hitting his stride at an opportune moment, poised to enter free agency for the first time this winter. While teammate Juan Soto is also an impending free agent and projected to secure a historic payday, it is uncertain how Torres’ contract negotiations will be influenced by the Yankees’ efforts to retain Soto.

Before he figures out where he will play in 2025 and beyond, the two-time All-Star second baseman is focused on helping his team win the American League pennant after previously falling short in the ALCS twice during his seven-year big league career. The series has now shifted to Cleveland’s Progressive Field, where first pitch of Game 3 is set for 5:08 p.m. ET on TBS.