by Gleyber Torres and Carlos Mendoza are no longer part of the same organization, but their history goes back almost a decade.
Even though Mendoza is across town, Torres falls back on his old coach with the Mets and knows the two could meet in the World Series if they both advance beyond their respective LCS.
“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself because we have a lot of things to do first, but it would be special to see him in a Subway Series in the World Series,” Torres said during the ALDS in Kansas City Thursday. “Not just for us, but for New York. It would be great.”
However, Torres and Mendoza still have a connection that dates back to Torres’ trade from the Cubs to the Yankees midway through the 2016 season when Aroldis Chapman was sent to Chicago.
At the time, Torres was one of the best players in the game and Mendoza was a roving defensive instructor in the Yankees’ minor league system.
“[Mendoza] “was the first guy I really got to know on the Yankees, and he helped me more than anyone when I got here,” said Torres, who, like Mendoza, is from Venezuela. “And then he was with me throughout my entire major league career until this year.”
Before Mendoza moved districts, Torres said his old backup coach knew how to handle success and failure by staying positive throughout but also leaning on him when he needed to hear it.
Follow the Post’s coverage of the Yankees in the postseason:
And one of Mendoza’s messages hit particularly close to home for Torres.
“He always told me, ‘It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that matters.’ And that’s exactly what happened to both of us this year: the Mets started really slow and then played really well, and now they’re in the playoffs. And I played better in the second half and hopefully in the postseason.”
Torres is coming off a memorable fall after capping a shaky season with a stellar September heading into free agency and then getting off to a solid start in the playoffs – all without the top spot.
In his final 24 games of the regular season, Torres had an OPS of .876 after posting just a .673 OPS through September 1st.
And while Torres hit just 3-of-15 against the Royals, he hit a home run and a double along with five walks and scored a team-high four runs in the series.
The Mets also began rewriting their history for 2024 in September, with Mendoza securing them a wild-card berth and postseason series wins over Milwaukee and Philadelphia.
“I’m really happy for him,” Torres said. “He always helped me and he deserved it. I thought he would definitely be a good manager. I’m glad he got the chance and hope he continues.”
