BRONX — There hasn’t been a whole lot for Yankees fans to get excited about lately, but one thing has given them some room for optimism. And that has been the play of rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe.
After Volpe took some time to adjust to the major league level, the New Jersey native has become much more comfortable at the plate and his baserunning has become some of the best Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone has ever seen. The rookie’s prowess on the base paths helped manufacture the insurance run the Yankees needed in the eighth inning after singling to lead off, and then stealing second and third base to put himself in a spot for DJ LeMahieu to drive him home.
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It was just the latest example of the masterclass that Volpe has seemingly put on when he’s been on the basepaths. The rookie is a perfect 10-for-10 on stolen base attempts this season and is just the fifth player in franchise history to record at least 10 stolen bases through their first 31 career games.
Boone said after Tuesday’s win that he wasn’t surprised by Volpe’s success on the basepaths, but the Yankees’ skipper has marveled at his intellect when running the bases.
“Obviously he’s stolen a lot of bases with a really high success rate in the minor leagues. We got to see it all spring long and I think we saw it in that first series right away,” Boone said about Volpe’s baserunning. “But he’s a special base runner.”
Boone added: “He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.”
Upon being told of Boone’s comments after Tuesday night’s game, Volpe expressed appreciation for the high praise from his manager but insisted there was still plenty of work he needed to do in his game. He did credit the coaching staff for helping him sharpen some of the little details that have contributed to his success stealing bases.
Volpe’s all-around game has continued to grow as the 22-year-old has gotten more comfortable. He hit his third career home run in the win over Cleveland and has been batting .333/.394/.500 over his last eight starts.
In the field, Volpe made a potentially game-saving play in the eighth when he was able to get the force out at second after Wandy Peralta made an errant throw.
The Yankees need Volpe to be successful at the plate and on the basepaths, if they hope to get through the turbulent time they find themselves in. The Yankees offense had been struggling going into Tuesday’s win and they need to make for the loss of run production from injured stars Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge.
Volpe acknowledged that everyone was aware of what’s been going on lately, but he remained confident in the guys inside the clubhouse to get the job done.
“We know what we’re capable of,” Volpe said. “When we’re reaching towards that then I feel like we’ll be fine. We know we haven’t been doing what they’re capable of, but as long as we know that and we keep working, I feel like we’re gonna fine.”
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