Didi: Being back in Bx. shouldn’t feel ‘weird’
Didi Gregorius taught himself how to play piano when he was recovering from Tommy John surgery, so it should be no surprise the former Yankee picked up a new hobby while baseball was shut down because of COVID-19: tattooing. “I started to tattoo friends and family and everyone I could think of,’’ Gregorius said from Philadelphia on a Zoom call Wednesday. Gregorius said people had told him he should start giving tattoos after looking at his drawings, and he started doing it to himself last year. “I started to tattoo myself, and it felt really good,’’ Gregorius said. “I just kept on going and did almost my whole leg. Then I started on other people during this time off. … It was just baseball and tattooing.”
Gregorius spent five seasons with the Yankees after taking over at shortstop from Derek Jeter.
The 30-year-old left for the Phillies as a free agent on a one-year, $14 million deal when the Yankees prioritized signing Gerrit Cole and couldn’t commit more money to Gregorius. Gleyber Torres has since taken over at short for the Yankees and struggled during spring training in March, and questions remain during spring training 2.0 in The Bronx.
Gregorius said he told Torres earlier in spring training to “be himself,’’ just as the two talked about when they were teammates.
“He just has to slow the game down and use his legs,’’ Gregorius said. “He knows. I’m here and I told him if he wants, he can text me. We’ll see.”
The two figure to be able to chat in person on Monday, when the Phillies and their new manager Joe Girardi visit Yankee Stadium for an exhibition game prior to the Yankees’ season opener in Washington next Thursday.
Gregorius said it won’t be strange coming back to his former home.
“I don’t think it should be weird,’’ Gregorius said. “I’m just wearing a different uniform. There’s not much I can do about that. Whatever happened, happened. I had a fun time there.”
When Gregorius does come to New York, he plans on joining Clint Frazier in wearing a mask while playing, since Gregorius suffers from a chronic kidney disease that puts him in the high-risk category and led some to believe he may opt out of the season.
“I had good conversations with our doctors, since I’m a high-risk player,’’ Gregorius said. “We made sure to go through the guidelines. I’ve got to keep a mask on at all times, and I’m really comfortable with all these guys [on the Phillies]. Everyone is following the rules.”