DIDI DOES PART
SS makes it look easy on '0'&'D'
Didi Gregorius had one hit Friday night. So what was all the fuss?
Well, that hit was a two-run homer, his 22nd extending his personal-best total. And the two outs he made in the Yankees’ 8-2 drubbing of the Orioles at Yankee Stadium were sacrifice flies for another two RBIs, giving him 77 this season, again upping his personal best. Oh, he also walked and fielded flawlessly, making one particularly outstanding throw from the hole at short.
Officially, 1-for-1 with four RBIs. Yeah, that’s worth making a fuss about.
“Huge night. He continues to play really well and that’s not even talking about the five tough plays that he made,” Joe Girardi said.
Gregorius, including 2016 and this season, is the first shortstop in Yankees history to forge back-to-back 20-home run seasons — he hit 20 last year.
“I was surprised when I heard it,” said Gregorius, who tied a seasonhigh with the four RBIs. “Playing for the team, that’s very special. I don’t worry about records. It’s just playing the game the right way and trying to be there through ups and downs. I wasn’t trying to hit 20 home runs, it just happened.”
Given the team history, when you become the first Yankee to do virtually anything, it says something.
“He’s become confident in who he is,” Girardi said, stressing Gregorius’ importance for a team over which the public fixates on Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Friday’s winner, Luis Severino. “He’s figured it out.”
And teammates have figured out his value.
“He’s one of the best shortstops in the game,” Severino said.
“Some other guys have gotten the attention, but he’s right there. He’s as good as there is in the game at what he’s doing,” Chase Headley said.
Like making that loonngg throw in the fourth to get Trey Mancini.
“I practice it a lot during batting practice,” Gregorius said. “So if you see me during BP, I take at least five or six ground balls like that to make it easier in the game.”
The throw highlighted his defensive night. Offensively, he homered on a slider in the fifth. Both provided a charge.
“On defense you’ve got to focus on defense and on offense you’ve got to focus on offense,” he said. “Both are really important, so you get excited on both.”
And that excites the Yankees. They know Gregorius’ worth, even if he might not get the most notice.
“To be a championship team, you have to have that,” Girardi said. “There’s always gonna be those few guys that get a ton of attention, but it takes more than that to win.”