Gleyber Torres had a little tussle with hustle.
"Hustle" is largely a buzzword for oldhead baseball fans to excoriate certain players who are struggling or teams that are in the tank. But when you're hitting under .200 on a 6-11 baseball team, hustle means a little bit more than that.
On Wednesday, the Yankees' shortstop seemingly gave minimum effort on a nubbed check-swing ground ball, packing it in about 87 feet before getting to first in a three-run game in the seventh inning.
what is this effort pic.twitter.com/mdgUaPqSPc
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 22, 2021
MORE: Why the Yankees' slow start should be concerning
The Yankees would lose 4-1 to the Braves and continue their problematic start to the season. They're now in the AL East cellar and their vaunted offense has been one of the worst all-around units in the game, scoring 3.47 runs per game.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game that Torres would be called into the principal's office to have a nice chat about the play.
Aaron Boone said that he will speak to Gleyber Torres about not running out the seventh-inning check-swing. "That's got to be better."
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) April 22, 2021
Needless to say, every baserunner counts in the late stages of a three-run game, and Torres is slashing .186/.294/.220 early in the season. Consider this a teachable moment.
He is only 24, after all.