Exclusive: Atlanta Sports Radio Host Chris Dimino discusses the weight of expectation on Anthony Volpe after debuts of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Juan Soto
Anthony Volpe is one week into his tenure as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees. He is the toast of New York, the apple of Yankee fans' eyes, and is widely seen as the heir apparent to Derek Jeter come at last.
It's a world of weight to be hoisted onto a 21-year-old with less than two combined campaigns of minor league seasoning.
ANTHONY VOLPE WHAT A PLAY https://t.co/wwhXcBoO8M
What happens if Anthony Volpe is unable to handle all the expectations? Most 21-year-olds are still trying to figure out their own lives, much less trying to excel as a shortstop for a team with eternal championship expectations in the most intense media market in MLB.
Atlanta sports radio host Chris Dimino shared his thoughts on the the immense challenge facing Anthony Volpe this season in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda:
"(Volpe) is a 21 year-old-guy, the last regular shortstop the Yankees had that was 21 was a guy named Derek Jeter. I'm just glad (Volpe) wasn't following (Jeter). In sports, never be the guy, be the guy who follows the guy that follows the guy."
Through six games, Volpe has hit .177 while batting ninth in the Yankees lineup. New Yorkers clamored for his call-up all winter, despite a general feeling among baseball insiders that he was still a year away. After Volpe impressed this spring, Yankee fans got their wish.
Dimino says that New Yorkers are going to have to demonstrate more patience than they may be used to when it comes to giving Anthony Volpe time to try, fail, learn, and improve:
"If you're a parent, remember when you put your kid on a bike for the first time training wheels? Then you take the training wheels off and you run next to them, but you want to let them fall a little bit? Like, hey, here's what's going to happen. If you get good at this, I don't have to be with you and you're not going to fall. I think that's sort of it (with Volpe)."
Yankee fans are well known for throwing their arms around "one of their own." Anthony Volpe is a local kid, a Yankee fan since birth, and a first-round pick for the team in the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft. So, New Yorkers will likely be patient through his struggles.
Will Yankees fans boo Anthony Volpe is he can't live up to the hype?
Yankees fans have stratospheric expectations of players in pinstripes. What has often been referred to as a "toxic fan culture" even booed Aaron Judge during the 2022 playoffs, just weeks after he became the American League's single-season home run king.
How long of a rope will Yankees fans give Anthony Volpe? If he does not become Jeter 2.0, will New Yorkers hang him with it?
Dimino remarked on what the phenomenal debuts of Acuna and Soto have done to the modern-day expectations of rookies:
"Ronald Acuna (Jr.), Juan Soto, these young guys who've had a lot of success, they kind of screwed it up for every other young guy who needs a little bit of time. There's only a few of these guys. Right? Gotta let them grow."
Playing in a world where younger players are finding immediate success — such as Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto — also has Anthony Volpe battling the clock as much as the competition.