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In 2019, Gleyber Torres was a second-year player who made his second All-Star team and finished the season with 38 home runs. He was the Yankees’ breakout star in that postseason, leading the team with a 1.078 OPS in nine playoff games. He was just 22 years old, and it was reasonable to expect his best was still ahead of him.
So, you can forgive me when, in an attempt to be a bit bold yet still realistic, I predicted that Torres would win the AL MVP award in our 2020 season preview issue that hit newsstands just before the pandemic delayed the season for four months.