Gleyber's dad foresaw greatness at early age

HOUSTON -- When a young Gleyber Torres told his parents that he wanted to focus on baseball full-time, his father, Eusebio, offered his blessing, but also made his expectations clear.

“I told Gleyber, ‘Well, son, you can’t just be an average player. You have to be a player that’s always in the top spots, always aiming for good things,'" Eusebio recounted in Spanish via phone from Houston prior to Sunday night's Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. "Award-winning players, excellent players achieve excellence by working and being dedicated. So I want you to be dedicated, to really work hard so you can be a special player.”

By the time that conversation took place, Eusebio had an inkling that his son was anything but average; the Yankees second baseman, who began playing baseball at age 5 in his hometown of Caracas, Venezuela, was 9 when his dad realized that his skills on the diamond were advanced for his age.

“At 9, young kids play baseball, but they don’t stand out with their performances the way Gleyber did,” said Eusebio. “That allowed me to dream and made me realize that Gleyber had a special talent. When he was 9 years old, I envisioned it and I told his mother and his godmother that Gleyber was going to play professional baseball.”

Eusebio’s foresight proved prophetic. Gleyber was 16 when he signed with the Cubs for $1.7 million in July 2013. At the time, he was ranked as the No. 3 prospect of the 2013 international free-agent class and the top prospect in Venezuela, per MLB Pipeline. Gleyber was baseball’s No. 26 prospect by the time the Cubs traded him to the Yankees three years later, as part of a package for closer Aroldis Chapman. When he made his Major League debut for New York in April 2018, he had risen all the way to No. 5.

Gleyber, 22, hit the ground running, finishing third in the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year Award balloting after posting a .271 average with 24 home runs and 77 RBIs in 123 games for New York. Already a two-time All-Star, Gleyber led the Yanks with 38 home runs during the 2019 regular season, in which he hit .278 and drove in 90 runs. And he's been on a tear in the playoffs this year, slashing .409/.435/.864 with two home runs and nine RBIs in five games, including a three-hit, five-RBI performance in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Astros on Saturday night. Gleyber has hit safely in nine postseason games dating to last year.

But while he set the bar high, Eusebio admits that he didn’t expect Gleyber to burst out of the gate at such a young age.

• Nobody is more excited for Gleyber than his dad

“I thought Gleyber would do this later on, when he was in the Major Leagues for three or four years,” said Eusebio, 46, who is currently the catcher on an amateur baseball team in Venezuela. “But doing it from his first year, for me, aside from a nice surprise, is a great satisfaction.”

Gleyber routinely draws praise from coaches and teammates, not only for his performance, but for displaying a level of maturity and aplomb that belie his age. Eusebio believes that comes from the way Gleyber was raised, as well as his entering a baseball academy just a couple of months shy of his 13th birthday and finding himself in the company of players who were three to five years older.

“That started opening his mind a bit and it guided him with regards to what he wanted for his life,” said Eusebio. “From that moment, he started working for his future and he started to think less like a child and have the mentality of a young man, that he had to work to achieve the goal.”

Torres’ parents live in Venezuela, but they have been present at every Yankees’ postseason game this year, with Eusebio sharing videos on Twitter during games expressing his excitement. The Torres family also attended a number of regular-season games this season, including Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, as well as the All-Star Game in Cleveland.

“That they are here is super exciting for me,” Gleyber said in Spanish. “From the time I was young they supported me and now that I’m playing in this league, that they’re here is the best thing for me.”

As much as Gleyber has already accomplished, his dad considers him capable of much more.

“I want him to hit for average, .300, with 30 to 35 home runs and 100 RBIs,” says Eusebio. “For me, that would be an excellent season for Gleyber and I think that's the road he's on.”