Post columnist Steve Serby catches up with Mets catcher Luis Torrens for some Q&A.
Q: After you were hit in the groin by a foul tip on May 11, what did your wife tell you?
A: (Laugh) First thing she told me was, “We already have two kids.” We’re safe in that part. That one was not the first one, so we’re used to when that happens.
Q: You said you were going to change your protective cup.
A: It’s just a cup that the MMA guys use. It’s way better. This one has more of a mold and it kind of like forms for me personally to hold everything in.
Q: Why is playing catcher fun?
A: You always have the opportunity to make an impact on the game every pitch.
Q: Favorite catchers?
A: Buster Posey and Yadier Molina.
Q: Sum up your mentality on the field.
A: A warrior. I like to compete. It’s a fight on the field, you know, when you compete against other teams. That’s how I think. It’s you against me.
Q: What is the biggest adversity you had to overcome?
A: I would say my shoulder surgery in 2015. I lost almost two years.
Q: What was the lowest point for you?
A: This is a sport I play since I was really young … (An) 18-year-old kid, and I missed two years, it was hard for sure. You don’t know how you’re going to come back.
Q: Did you think your career might be over?
A: It’s a possibility that might happen where my career would be over.
Q: From your Instagram: “In life, you are either the passenger or the pilot. It’s your choice.”
A: For me, that means you can be a leader or you’re a follower. Me personally, I’d rather be the pilot. I’d rather be the one that takes control of where I go in my life and in my career as opposed to just getting on as a passenger and saying, “You know what? Take me wherever you want.” I want that control in my life.
Q: “If you think money is stopping you from doing something, it’s because you don’t really want to do it.”
A: Money gives you a lot of opportunities to do a lot of different things, but at the end of the day you kind of have to want to do it within yourself to be able to achieve whatever goal it is that you have. So if you don’t really want to do it, you’re not going to do it whether you have money or you don’t.
Q: “When our attitudes exceed our abilities, even the impossible becomes possible.”
A: I think the attitude of a person is what brings people to their highest peak. There are a lot of people where you see they have a ton of talent and then they have a bad attitude, so they’re never able to maximize on all that talent and all that potential that they have. But when you see that attitude and the talent kind of meshes together, you’ll be able to see the type of impact that a person can make.
Q: “The happiest people don’t have the best things, they just appreciate the good things they have.”
A: I have my tattoo where it says “Be Grateful” [on his left forearm]. There are a lot of people that have everything in the world, all the resources, and they’re miserable and they live their life almost in sadness. So when you start to appreciate the little things in life, that’s where you’re able to really appreciate all the moments. So for me it’s important to have that type of gratitude towards life.
Q: What are your strengths as a catcher?
A: I think catcher’s one of those positions where the mental part of the game is probably the most important. When you’re paying attention to how to get a player out, you’re really kind of playing that game with them to try to create the best game plan that you possibly can. But in the way that I prepare myself day in and day out as a catcher, I really think that I do a really good job and that’s part of the mentality of being a catcher for this team.
Q: Is there a better feeling than throwing somebody out?
A: One of the best.
Q: Are there guys you haven’t thrown out yet who you want to throw out?
A: I don’t pay attention to that. I’m just focused on throwing everybody out, honestly.
Q: Why do you think you’re so good at that?
A: Well, first and foremost, you have to give a lot of credit to the pitchers who are really good at holding the runners, getting quick to home. And then you also have to give credit to the middle infielders who are all getting into the proper position making the right tag. Everyone thinks that it’s only me, but this is a whole union of guys.
Q: What parts of your game do you need to work on?
A: I think consistency’s something that we all strive for from our whole careers, and to try to find different methods on how to continue to improve as a player.
Q: Is there one area that you want to be more consistent in?
A: Hitting.
Q: How about as a catcher? Framing?
A: Everything. I want to be the best version of myself, be a good framer, be a good blocker, be a good thrower, be good calling the games. When people ask me that, I always say everything.
Q: Why do you enjoy calling the game?
A: It’s fun. I think it’s a lot of responsibility. That’s how you can make a lot of impact in the game.
Q: What is it like catching Kodai Senga’s ghost fork?
A: It’s a pitch that we call just because of the movement and the effectiveness against hitters, so it’s definitely fun to call.
Q: What is it like when Shohei Ohtani is in the batter’s box?
A: It’s important to call good pitches and not repeat the same pitch over and over, so just keep him off balance.
Q: Do you talk to hitters behind the plate?
A: I like to have a conversation with them. Because I also like when I hit have a conversation with the catcher.
Q: What’s the best conversation you’ve had?
A: I can’t really remember in detail what the conversations were about, but there are some guys that like to talk a lot and other guys that aren’t necessarily as open in talking.
Q: What was it like for you when the Padres kept you on the roster in 2017 even though you never played above Class-A?
A: It was a surprise for me. And also I was coming back from rehabbing a surgery that I hadn’t played in almost two years at that point. I didn’t even know that the Rule 5 draft existed at that point.
Q: Was it intimidating for you?
A: I wouldn’t say it was intimidating, I kind of take everything as a challenge. All of us baseball players think that we’re capable of playing in the major leagues, so it wasn’t intimidating in that sense. But I think the interesting part was that usually a player’s development happens in the minor leagues. For me, it was happening in the major leagues, which is definitely different.
Q: What was it like pitching a 10th inning and getting the win in 2022 with the Mariners?
A: It’s an interesting situation because all the time I’m either joking around throwing a bullpen or I’m out there throwing different types of pitches, and the manager [Scott Servais] knew that I would always do that, so in this situation it was actually a win or lose game, so he threw me in the situation and it was definitely fun.
Q: How’s your curveball?
A: I just threw fastballs.
Q: How’s fast is your fastball?
A: The fastest was 89. But I think I have more than that (smile).
Q: So if Carlos Mendoza asked you for an inning, you’re ready?
A: For sure (smile).
Q: You became a fan favorite in Seattle.
A: I’m really appreciative of how the fans and the organization and everyone kind of embraced me over there, but it was a really good time and I still have a lot of great friends over there.
Q: Why did you originally sign with the Yankees in 2012?
A: Because they offered me the most money. When I was young that was one of my favorite teams.
Q: Describe meeting Reggie Jackson in 2014.
A: It was cool for sure. He’s a big personality in the game of baseball. I had various opportunities to be able to have conversations with him when I was with the Yankees organization.
Q: What drives you?
A: First, my family.
Q: Some people are superstitious and won’t wear No. 13.
A: Bad luck?
Q: Not you?
A: No, not me (laugh).
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Jesus, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Jordan.
Q: Favorite entertainer?
A: Bad Bunny.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Pasticho.
Q: You attended last year’s U.S. Open. Who is your favorite tennis player?
A: Rafael Nadal.
Q: How would you sum up what your journey has been like? It hasn’t been easy.
A: Yeah, obviously it wasn’t easy, but I think everything that I’ve gone through up until this point of my career has put me in this opportunity to be in such a great organization. Everything that I’ve had to face in the past has molded me into the player that I am today.
Q: How do you like playing in New York?
A: It’s great to be here in New York. Since I was a kid, I was originally a fan of the Giants because of Barry Bonds, a fan of the Yankees because of [Derek] Jeter. And then as I got a little bit older, in Venezuela me and honestly the rest of the country were big fans of Edgardo Alfonzo, who played here, and Endy Chávez. Johan Santana as well. So yeah, I was able to sign with the Yankees. I’ve never played for the Giants, but I’m here so I was almost able to check off a couple of childhood dreams that I had as a kid, so it’s been really special.
Q: What was your reaction when the Yankees traded you to the Mets last May for $100,000?
A: I was super excited. I was really surprised as well because I wasn’t expecting it to happen. But when it did happen, I just thought to myself, “Wow. Everything that I’ve gone through, now I’m here.”
Q: You once said, “My competition is me.”
A: That was something I learned early on in my career, where it was me just competing against myself, where I was just trying to get better from the day before. It helps eliminate the distraction and all the noise about you competing against somebody else. You can just hold yourself accountable each and every day to try to get better from the day before.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: I don’t see them as failures, but anytime that I’ve been sent down I’ve used it as a motivating factor. Obviously it’s happened a bunch in my career. I’m able to look at myself in the mirror and say, “It’s time to go after it, it’s time to get it.” So I think after every single time I’ve essentially failed, it’s always given me an opportunity to kind of light that fire up under me again and to try to make it back to the big leagues and have success.
Q: What do you think New York would be like if the Mets made it to a World Series?
A: I think it’ll be crazy if we made it to the World Series. Last year obviously we got pretty close and it was a tremendous experience, phenomenal experience with the fan base. But right now, that’s our goal is to make it to the World Series and hopefully win it when we get there.
Q: Is this team good enough to win a World Series?
A: For sure. … Everyone has the same commitment. And then just the talent level that we have, I think we’re all capable of reaching different heights because of our commitment and our commitment to pulling in the same direction.
Q: At the end of the season, what will Mets fans be saying about Juan Soto?
A: I hope that they’re as excited and appreciative of him as we are in the clubhouse, and he’s going to put up tremendous numbers and he’s going to have a tremendous impact on this organization this year and for years to come. So hopefully he helps us win a championship, which is what we’re all trying to do, and hopefully they’re appreciative of it.
