📌 Join the BPCrew Chapter in your city and meet up with more Yankees fans! 👉 CLICK HERE
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 06: Ronald Torreyes #17 of the New York Yankees in action against the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium on April 6, 2016 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Astros 16-6. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Torreyes: Altuve ‘opened doors for me’

The Yankees’ Ronald Torreyes, the 25th man on the roster, is continuing to buck the trend of a “typical” baseball player. Venezuelan-born, he is one of the smallest men in Major League Baseball at 5-foot-8.  The smallest, of course, is Houston Astros’ second baseman Jose Altuve, also Venezuelan-born, listed at 5’5”.

In an MLB.com documentary, Big Dreams: The Jose Altuve Story, narrator Dennis Quaid explains:

“So many people see themselves in Jose Altuve because he has all the odds stocked against him and he’s doing it day in and day out…. He has become an inspiration to many people.” Torreyes is one of those who has been inspired.

“Altuve opened doors for me, not only by his size, but by his outstanding skills; he’s a phenomenon…. I know he has single-handedly opened doors for us players of smaller stature, and I know that later I’m going to open doors for another player. The key is to work. If you continue working hard, you will get your chance” (ESPN.com) said Torreyes, 23, through a Spanish translator.

His stats say: who cares about his height? Torreyes has been on a tear so far during this 2016 season (BA .667, 3R, 2RBI). In a disappointing loss to the Blue Jays (in Toronto) on Wednesday, April 13, the Yankees totaled 8 hits on two runs. Torreyes was responsible for 2 hits and a run scored.

“With Yankees again having difficulties against left-handed pitching … Torreyes is making a [strong] case that manager Joe Girardi will need to find a place in the lineup for him when the team faces a lefty” (ESPN.com).

With continued production like this, it will be hard for Torreyes to be overlooked, lost in the crowd.