Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Boone On Torres Being Left Off All-Star Team: "That's ridiculous"

Gleyber Torres getting his game-winning walkoff hit on Wednesday, June 25 against Toronto. Photo by Jason Schott.



Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres has proven to be one of their most consistent players, especially in the first few months of this season when a lot of his teammates were on the injured list and the Yankees have raced to a big lead in the American League East.


The second-year star is hitting .295 with 19 home runs and 48 RBI, yet he did not make the American All-Star team when it was announced on Sunday or as an injury replacement on Wednesday.

"I think it's a joke that he's not on that team," Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said tersely on Wednesday afternoon. "Gleyber Torres not an All-Star, you can kick rocks on that one - that's ridiculous. He's been unbelievable for us, for, you know, a first-place club, the offensive consistency he's had, the power, the on-base (percentage of .363), the playing both positions in the middle infield. It doesn't seem right to me that he's not on that team."

Boone was asked why Torres is being looked over and he said, "I don't know, and I haven't dove in - I know there's all kinds of players and coaches vote, and fan voting, and sometimes that's in a few weeks ago, obviously, every team has to be represented. I undertand there's a lot of moving parts that make it difficult, and ultimately, every year, you have guys that are certainly deserving that don't get in that game. The Gleyber one is one of those that's a head scratcher to me.

"When I got word, when we were in London that Chappy (closer Aroldis Chapman) had made it, and that (first baseman/designated hitter) Luke (Voit) hadn't, and Gleyber hadn't, you know, you can go down the list of a couple other guys that maybe deserve it from our team. I did, obviously, deliver the news to Aroldis, but I did also speak with Gleyber and Luke, and let them know that I thought they were certainly deserving, but that they weren't going to be on the team."

Boone always says that Torres plays like a veteran and he has certainly performed up to expectations. On if those things make it possible that Torres' performance is possibly being taken for granted, Boone said, "I don't know, I think he's appreciated around the game as a great player, you know, obviously, just 22 years old. I'm just really proud of the continued strides that I see with him, from the time he got called up last year and was an impact for us right away. I feel like his game, you know, in little, subtle ways, has improved so much as well, and those are things that we've challenged him on, and I feel like he's kind of met every challenge and he continues to kind of become this more polished and well-rounded great player at such a young age."

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