Proud in Pinstripes

 

Anthony Volpe is officially a member of the New York Yankees.

Volpe has been blessed with talent, ability, a mega-watt personality, charm, and that dreaded word: intangibles.

If you can't see what that adds up to, I'll just say it: it leads to comparisons to a certain Mr. D.S. Jeter of Kalamazoo, MI.

Look, sports has a long history of creating "the next." Lou Gehrig was the next Ruth. Mickey Mantle was supposed to be the next Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio rolled into one (and he wasn't far off). Bobby Murcer was supposed to be the next Mantle (and, while he was wonderful, he couldn't achieve that).

Now it's Volpe. I'm content to let him be himself. I certainly don't expect him to have the sixth-most hits ever when his career is over.

Trust me, if you haven't seen him yourself, it's worth it.

He was dynamite in Hudson Valley. He remained terrific at Somerset in AA ball.

But there was the concern that he only played just a handful of games at AAA.

No way he'd make the big team!

He needs more seasoning, right? The Yankees hold their young players back.

Except, Volpe made it difficult. He came into spring training and displayed what many of us already knew.

He can play shortstop though he can move around the infield. 

He can hit for power and average. 

He can run.

He has that ability. That ability to get the big hit or make the big play or be in the right place at the right time. He will say all the right things and do it with a small-town New Jersey way about him.

He's the new "overrated shortstop" that Yankees fans will love and Yankees haters will detest.

He can be big. The sky is the limit for him now.

He was just a kid getting promoted to Hudson Valley when I covered him in 2021. Because the Yankees were ultra-protective, I never got to interview him on "Rob's Roundup." I did, however, meet his parents and they just added to the allure of this young man.

Yes, I broadcast his games at Dutchess Stadium (now Heritage Financial Park). I'm guilty of feeling enormous pride over that. It makes me take a personal interest in his success as it did with John Sullivan, Cornelius Johnson, and any other player who has made it to national prominence.

This video contains a number of highlights from Volpe's 2021 campaign and I'm honored to have my voice all over it. It's a nice reminder of what I hope was good work that I did with HV in the '21 season.

But the time is now for Anthony Volpe.

Watch him starting Thursday.

At Yankee Stadium.

Anthony Volpe is a New York Yankee.