NEW YORK — Before returning to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday for the first time as an opponent, Gleyber Torres paid a visit to an old friend: The Yankees’ team barber.
The Detroit Tigers’ All-Star second baseman emerged with a clean fade, cornrows and a well-groomed beard, ready to face the organization that raised him and, after seven seasons, was not interested in retaining him over the winter.
“No, not really,” Torres said when asked if he was disappointed by the Yankees’ lack of interest before batting second for the Tigers on Tuesday night. “I know it’s a business.”
The Tigers handled their business on Tuesday, routing the Yankees, 12-9, behind a nine-run seventh inning. Torres went 1-for-4 with a double, two walks, two runs scored and an RBI.
He was the recipient of two ovations from the Yankee Stadium crowd — before his first plate appearance in the first inning that Torres acknowledged by tipping his helmet and when the Yankees played a tribute video on the scoreboard after the first inning. Torres watched the video from the top step of the Tigers’ dugout and acknowledged the crowd again.
“It feels amazing,” Torres said. “I really, really appreciate the video, the fans’ ovation. That’s going to be a moment, I really never forget it. I feel so happy. As a player when you do the right thing and the fans show some love for you, it’s really special.”
It’s been nearly a year since Torres last wore the Yankee pinstripes in a disastrous Game 5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. An All-Star his first two major league seasons, Torres, once the consensus top-five prospect in baseball, remained a steady contributor but never touched those heights again in the Bronx. He reached free agency after a turbulent year with end-to-end defensive struggles and a strong finish at the plate as New York’s leadoff hitter.
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“I really loved playing in New York,” Torres said. “That’s the city everybody wants to play in. It was never pressure. It’s just frustration in the moment because I [didn’t] do my job. I didn’t play good defensively. At the [time], offensively, I didn’t do the job. And, as a player, you got egos and when things aren’t going your way, you’re always going to feel frustration because you’re young and that’s the big thing.
“Playing with Detroit, it’s the same mentality. Do the best I can do for the team and it’s never pressure. It’s just, I think, the pressure is on myself to get better every time and do my job. I think that’s always my mentality.”
Torres was offered multiyear contracts during free agency but opted to sign a one-year, $15 million deal with Detroit, betting on himself to rebound with an organization that had turned the corner with an improbable postseason appearance in 2024.
While still short of his peak performance, the change has yielded positive results. Entering Tuesday, Torres, who made his first All-Star team this summer since 2019, was batting .259 with 15 home runs and a .758 OPS in 128 games for the first-place Tigers in his age-28 season. He’s batting .347 with runners in scoring position and already has recorded a career high in walks.
“He’s a staple in their [lineup] and he’s a really good player,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Tuesday’s game. “We saw that here. Especially the kind of finish he had last year, the final two months of the season and then all through October. He’s kind of carried it over there and been really consistent for them.
“He’s such a good hitter. He knows the strike zone so well. The last year, we started to see the maturity. He was always a good hitter, but you really started to see that veteran, mature hitter that really controls the strike zone.”
Hitting in front of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, Torres noted, allowed for easier success. He said he learned to practice patience, to take his walks if needed and trust teammates behind him. He said he took that approach to Detroit and his on-base percentage, which has jumped more than 30 points from last year, illustrates improvement.
Torres said he’s benefitted from the Tigers’ emphasis on aggressive baserunning, something he said the Yankees did not stress to him. He hopes it concludes with another trip to the World Series in a different uniform, a year after falling just short in New York.
“I really liked the fans and everything from when I was playing here,” Torres said. “Fortunately, whatever happened last year is in the past. I always tried to do the best for the team and for the fans. I tried to bring the energy every night when I got the opportunity to play.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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