Yorvit's Rebound

by PHAT JULIO on Sep 21, 2009 2:24 PM MDT

Lets put rivalries aside.

Just for right now.

I was reading the New York Times Sunday edition and read an article by Billy Witz titled "After Son's Kidnapping Ordeal, Player Finds Refuge in Baseball". It was an article on Yorvit Torrealba and the struggles and horrors he went through on his son's kidnapping.

We can all agree that Torrealba's number were forgettable in April and May. As if his baseball career was going through a terrible period, news got worse when he received a call from his wife on June 2nd telling him that his son was kidnapped at school in Venezuela. Miles and miles away from Colorado.

Hurdle and Tracy gave him the O.K. to leave the team to help himself out.

The kidnappers asked Torrealba's wife, Milangela, a ransom of $500,000 or her son will die. The kidnappers lowered their demands at $50,000. Police officers, disguised as relatives, delivered the money and the kidnappers released Torrealba's son and others.

You can read the rest of the story here.

After getting his son back, Yorvit found light in life. He says he thanks God for having his son back unharmed.

Nobody wants to be in Torrealba's situation, nobody. Nobody ever wants to face the horror, pain, and suffering Torrealba and his family faced. The most remarkable aspect of this story is how Torrealba handled himself after the whole ordeal. He made himself more positive than negative.

After receiving his son back, Yorvit made a huge rebound anybody can ask of him. When he returned on July 5th to now, he's batting .317 with only 22 strikeouts in 123 plate appearances. Add his clutch hitting he's been having and you can tell he's enjoying baseball again.

The Rockies comeback is a big story this year.

Yorvit Torrealba's comeback?

Even bigger

Eat. Drink. Be Merry. But the above FanPost does not necessarily reflect the attitudes, opinions, or views of Purple Row's staff (unless, of course, it's written by the staff [and even then, it still might not]).

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Thanks,Julio

for providing that link…I got a little verklempt….

Great story…and I’m so happy for Yorvit. He’s always been on of my faves’ on the team…

Yorvit Torrealba - Best Name in Baseball :)
Dexter Fowler - 2nd Best Name in Baseball:)
Brad Hawpe- GET SOME HITS AND RUNS!!! I'm having trouble defending you ....:(

by SDcat09 on Sep 21, 2009 2:36 PM MDT reply actions

My wife's favorite too

I’ve gotta say, I enjoy him being back there this time of year…maybe another WS run?

Patrick Saunders: I think Kruk is lazy.

by Rawktober on Sep 22, 2009 9:02 AM MDT up reply actions

Good Link

Yorvit is one of those guys that gets kicked around by fans, then when he does what he is doing now, makes me really like him more. He’s the underdog, and American’s love those.

by Redhawk on Sep 21, 2009 3:27 PM MDT reply actions

He's like the catcher version of "scrappy"

“Works well with pitchers” and then he gets hot sometime.

Totally likable.

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 21, 2009 4:04 PM MDT up reply actions

If he weren't making over $3 million I'd love him a lot more.

Eschew Obfuscation!

by Jeff Aberle on Sep 21, 2009 5:11 PM MDT up reply actions

ah yes

the same issue I have

^5 cost consciousness

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 21, 2009 5:16 PM MDT up reply actions

So, this is weird to me

he falls in less favor because he’s making a salary that team opted to pay him….?

Yorvit Torrealba - Best Name in Baseball :)
Dexter Fowler - 2nd Best Name in Baseball:)
Brad Hawpe- GET SOME HITS AND RUNS!!! I'm having trouble defending you ....:(

by SDcat09 on Sep 21, 2009 5:40 PM MDT up reply actions

The issue is he isn't worth what we're paying him

since he’s already paid for, we’re stuck with him, so we might as well enjoy him. But I don’t want to start really enjoying him again because he’s gonna be spendy next season, and I like the other catcher more anyhow.

When you have a cost-conscious organization, it’s hard to enjoy players being paid to be better than they are. That said, he’s approaching being worth what we paid him this season.

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 21, 2009 5:49 PM MDT up reply actions

Do you think he will be the primary catcher the rest of the season?

by butterfly on Sep 21, 2009 7:37 PM MDT up reply actions

Absolutely

We have to ride the guy who’s getting it done. I’m not definitively saying Iannetta wouldn’t, but this is why you have a catching tandem like ours. One goes cold, the other goes hot. Torrealba is hot; Chris, we’ll see you in Scottsdale.

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 21, 2009 7:53 PM MDT up reply actions

Aren't we in Tucson for next season?

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Sep 22, 2009 9:07 AM MDT up reply actions

Oh, is 2010 our last spring there?

I wasn’t sure about this.

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 22, 2009 9:16 AM MDT up reply actions

I think we have one more year in Tucson

At least, I remember thinking I had one more chance to charge the field and slide like Wesley Snipes

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Sep 22, 2009 9:28 AM MDT up reply actions

Or Omar Epps

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Sep 22, 2009 9:28 AM MDT up reply actions

yeah, seamless transition there, right?

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 22, 2009 9:39 AM MDT up reply actions

i don't get it either.

$3 million’s the average catcher salary in the league. there’s better guys getting paid less and worse guys getting paid more. torrealba brings a ton of things other catchers haven’t brought in the past in energy, handling pitchers expertly (especially spanish-speaking ones), and manager-quality brains. is he a bargain? no. but he’s certainly not a rip-off, either. besides, bargains in major league sports are short-lived anyway— underpaid players are underpaid for about a season.

at an position-average salary, i think the rockies are getting a good deal in torrealba. besides, i like the guy. :-)

by oxmouth on Sep 21, 2009 10:53 PM MDT up reply actions

In a general sense, you're absolutely right.

But who’s to say that Edwin Bellorin couldn’t do the same thing for 1/9th the price?

That’s the problem with tying dollar value to WAR or other value stats, is the readily available amount of replacement level talent.

Where we are now, I have ZERO problem with Yorvit being the guy, and because he’s the guy, he’s earning his paycheck. But preseason, he was a $3M backup. We have other guys ( B-C ) who could be a backup for league min.

The “Yorvit Haters” are all gleeful at being proved “wrong” by Yorvit’s current play, believe you me. What we’re concerned about is that if the FO decides to re-up him, he could cost a similar amount and go back to looking like he did in 2008 – lousy.

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 21, 2009 11:22 PM MDT up reply actions

But when YT signed his contract 2 years ago

he was a $3million dollar starter coming off a big world series and playoff run, with an unknown kid as a back up.

Yorviet got paid then what he was worth. In fact, it wasn’t as much as the Mets offered him. What he gets paid this off season will be different.

by Redhawk on Sep 21, 2009 11:29 PM MDT up reply actions

yeah, it'll be different

I’m hoping it won’t be all “LOOK HOW HE PERFORMED DOWN THE STRETCH THIS GUY IS AWESOME” because we’re looking at like 2 months of performance vs 2 years of contract.

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 22, 2009 8:28 AM MDT up reply actions

i know what you're saying

,i think we’re probably pretty much on the same page. if i’m the rockies i just can’t justify a 3 year contract for yorvit, especially if you think ianetta is the future.

obviously, there’s concerns there because, while i’ve thought it’s ianetta’s team for the taking, he doesn’t seem to want to take it. he’s starting to look a lot like a guy who’s more comfortable in a backup situation. meanwhile, the old guy, torrealba, can’t seem to get it out of his head that the starting job isn’t his.

by oxmouth on Sep 22, 2009 9:39 AM MDT up reply actions

what about a one year with an option

type contract?

My issue with Torrealba is he has NO arm at all, and it won’t get better.

by Redhawk on Sep 22, 2009 9:47 AM MDT up reply actions

I thought about that, too

1 year and an option

For the record, we have a 1 year mutual option on Torrealba, $4M, $0.5M buyout.

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 22, 2009 9:54 AM MDT up reply actions

*option for 2010

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 22, 2009 9:55 AM MDT up reply actions

ugh

did not know that.

by Redhawk on Sep 22, 2009 10:27 AM MDT up reply actions

yeah. that's kind of brutal.

by oxmouth on Sep 22, 2009 10:29 AM MDT up reply actions

yep. let's do that.

and yeah, his arm is bad and his aim is about the same. the catch is, ianetta doesn’t seem much better to me, going to second. stronger arm for sure, but timing and accuracy look sketchy. until sometime last week when it actually happened, i was beginning to think the rockies would never nail a base stealer again.

by oxmouth on Sep 22, 2009 10:24 AM MDT up reply actions

The Rockies starters are pretty poor at holding runners too

The telltale sign will be if McKenry does just as poorly, given he was one of the best at nailing runners in the entire minors last season

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Sep 22, 2009 10:59 AM MDT up reply actions

Go Yorvit

keep on rockin’. The story, terrifying and heartwarming for any father (and, surely, any person). The fantastic end to this season is well deserved and well earned. Come whatever may next year, right now he’s seizing the moment and delivering winning performances on a nightly basis. I’m quite happy that the Mets backed off him, no matter the price. Gold.

by Teekalong on Sep 21, 2009 11:46 PM MDT reply actions

I never thought I'd say it, but me too...

Now let’s hope he just signs a one year contract in the off season because he seems to do well in his walk years.

by Rox Girl on Sep 22, 2009 6:28 AM MDT up reply actions

Provided it's 1 year, I'm ok with it, too.

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by Andrew Martin on Sep 22, 2009 8:28 AM MDT up reply actions

He deserves the reward of a new contract, and it'd be hard to kick him out after his clutch heroics, but...

It would feel like a backward step. Give him a trophy, keys to the city, retire his number or whatever, but don’t spend $4m on what would effectively be a sentimental gesture.

FREE MIKE MCKENRY!

by biondino on Sep 22, 2009 9:41 AM MDT up reply actions