Fun shows how much Bombers have changed
ARE WE witnessing the birth of another Yankees dynasty? We’ll need some time to answer that one.
This week, however, we saw something else that just might turn into a beloved, celebrated institution: “The Toe-night Show.” The Yankees suffered a 9-6 loss to the Rays on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium, a near-fatal blow to their long-shot chances of winning the American League East. The Yankees must sweep the Blue Jays this weekend, and the Astros, who pounded the Red Sox by a 12-2 count Thursday, must win out in Boston in order to force a rivalry tiebreaker game Monday in The Bronx.
On the bright side for Joe Girardi’s bunch, Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge and Greg Bird went deep, which made them the latest guests on the dugout “talk show” — featuring Didi Gregorius as the primary interviewer (using an upside-down paper cup as a microphone) and Ronald Torreyes as the camera man — that has become a social media sensation.
The comedy bit, initiated by the Cubs earlier this season, became a Yankees thing thanks to Torreyes, the diminutive yet productive utility player — nicknamed “Toe” — who has scored points in the Yankees’ universe for his selflessness, his aggressive approach at the plate and his sense of humor. Hence the “Toenight Show” title, as dubbed by the Yankees Twitter account. Torreyes actually launched the pinstriped version in the second inning of Tuesday night’s game, a 6-1 Yankees victory, when Castro hit his first homer since Sept. 7.
“I was just sitting back here in the dugout,” Torreyes said through an interpreter Thursday before the game. “It was a long time coming for Castro. I think the last time he hit a home run was a while ago. So when he hit that home run, the first thing that came to my mind was to get the guys together and set up an interview and ask him how he felt. I think I grabbed a bat the first time [Tuesday], and then [Wednesday], I used the bucket for the [sunflower] seeds as a camera.”
It became a sensation Wednesday, when YES cameras caught Torreyes and Gregorius engaging homer-hitters Castro, Bird and Aaron Hicks. On Thursday, Torreyes upgraded to a more realistic-looking mock camera.
The natural follow-up: Since he thought of the idea, why didn’t Torreyes make himself the on-air correspondent and find someone else to “film” the exchange? “It was definitely spontaneous,” Torreyes offered initially, but upon further probing, the Venezuela native Torreyes noted how the Curacao-born Gregorius interviewed Castro in Spanish and Bird and Hicks in English.
“That’s why we have Didi around,” Torreyes said. “He can speak five, six different languages. That’s why he’s the person asking the questions.”
When the No. 2 hitter Judge hit his 51st homer Thursday, the cleanup hitter Gregorius stood on deck as rookie Miguel Andujar filled in for him as the reporter, with Hicks standing further back and holding a bat as a faux boom mike, a nice touch.
“Pretty clever,” Girardi said. “I think being creative is fun for the players, and I don’t ever want to take that away from them. I think they’re enjoying what they’re doing, and it seems to be working. It’s fun to watch.”
Gregorius said they intended to keep this going, conditionally: “If we’re winning, yes. If we’re losing, then no.” Sure enough, when Hicks delivered a ninth-inning solo homer Thursday to draw the Yankees within three runs, he received no post-trot questions.
Hey, maybe Gregorius and Torreyes can invite their big bosses onto the show and grill them why they haven’t announced extended netting at the Stadium for 2018! Let them work up to that, though. For now, they’ve earned this fun.