Anthony Volpe went full circle from fan to Yankees shortstop
NEW YORK CITY (BVM) – In 2014 during the MLB All-Star game, a young Anthony Volpe got a baseball autographed by Yankees legend Derek Jeter. It was quite the accomplishment for a lifelong Yankees fan but eight years later, he topped it by being the New York Yankees starting shortstop on Opening Day, becoming the youngest Yankee to start on Opening Day since Jeter.
“It was probably the most fun day of my entire life…I probably had goosebumps the whole day,” Vople said after his MLB debut.
His high school, Delbarton School, had a viewing party. The Delbarton baseball team went to the game. Volpe’s family was of course in the stands and in front of everyone, the 21-year-old led off for the Yankees in the third inning for his first career at-bat. Volpe got walked, then stole second two pitches later for his first career stolen base. Later in the sixth inning, he got his first double play after fielding a Wilmer Flores ground ball and flipping it to DJ LeMahieu at second who then rifled it to Anthony Rizzo at first. New York beat the San Francisco Giants 5-0 and Volpe lived out a lifelong dream.
Anthony Volpe’s FIRST double play 😎 pic.twitter.com/4ZFGOOxLCK
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) March 30, 2023
Volpe was born to two die-hard Yankees fans and lived on the Upper East Side of Manhattan until the family moved to New Jersey when Volpe was a kid. According to his family, Volpe never had a chance to be anything other than a Yankees fan as his uncle brought him his first Yankees hat just hours after his birth.
From there, Volpe continued to be a die-hard fan and became an outstanding baseball player. By the time he was a senior at Delbarton School, he was one of the best high school baseball players in the country. He was committed to play baseball at Vanderbilt but when New York drafted him with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, Volpe decided to forego his collegiate career.
Over the next three years, Volpe rose through the ranks of the Yankees farm system and quickly became New York’s No. 1 prospect. Prior to spring training, he received a non-roster invitation and won the starting spot at shortstop for his favorite team.
“The performance was there, he killed it between the lines,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said about Volpe making the Opening Day roster. “All the other things that we’ve been hearing about showed up. He earned the respect of the veterans in the room, his work is excellent, there’s an energy he plays the game with and an instinct that he has that’s evident.”
He earned the spot. Now it’s time to live up to the hype. Volpe knows how special the opportunity is and if ever he forgets, all he has to do is talk to his family. Volpe has said that his parents will sometimes stare in awe of what he’s saying when casually talking about hanging out with Aaron Judge or other Yankee stars in the club house.
This is a die-hard Yankee family with a member playing for the Yankees and he’s the youngest shortstop since Jeter to start for New York on Opening Day. It’s a story that writes itself and it’s just getting started.
