Anthony Volpe thanks teammates after receiving 'special' player of the game belt from Yankees brethren who helped him through difficult times
Anthony Volpe thanked his teammates after hitting his first career triple as the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 at Oriole Park on Saturday. That was the rookie's first extra base in the majors. The Yankees improved to 5-3 on the season and will look to consolidate that in the last game of the series on Sunday.
Volpe was the 30th overall selection in the first round for the Yankees in the 2019 MLB draft. Last season, he put on impressive performances in the A-leagues. Volpe hit 21 homers in 132 games for Double-A Somerset (18) and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (3), batting a combined .249/.342/.460.
After some solid performances in Spring Training, the future prospective leader of the Yanks was made the primary shortstop at the start of the season. He has had decent outings, securing two runs and three hits from 21 at-bats. What was concerning was his strikeout percentage with seven SOs in seven games, though.
However, that was addressed in Saturday's game, as Anthony Volpe hit a triple off a flyball to right field. The ball was only few feet away from being called a homer as it struck the wall and came back. Nevertheless, that allowed the 21-year-old enough time to scamper to third base. Quite fittingly, the Yankees awarded Volpe with the custom belt every player of the game wears at the end of the game.
“Being a part of this team and being welcomed in by these guys has made it 10 times better than I ever could have imagined,” Volpe said in a post match interview. “They recognized that I was going through it and struggling, and they were there for me every step of the way.”
Anthony Volpe on receiving the player of the game belt given out by the team:
“I was going through it and struggling and they were there for me every step of the way… to get recognized by them makes it better than getting recognized by anyone else” 🥹💙 https://t.co/otBbkQtS0R
Anthony Volpe has manager Aaron Boone's support
When Anthony Volpe was added to the starting XI on Opening Day, he secured the management's trust.
The Yankees management were also clear that if the rookie top prospect failed to deliver, he would be given enough time to prove himself. There wouldn't be any drastic decisions taken against him following a game or week's performance.
Manager Aaron Boone said about Anthony Volpe:
"One of the reasons Anthony is here, obviously we believe in the player, but as much as that, we believe in the person. He’s equipped to handle all that, and so he’ll be fine. He’ll get through it. He’s a great player; he’s going to be a great player. He’s equipped to handle this, and we’ll support him all the way.”
The Yankees finally have some rhythm going as they look to consolidate their position.