ARLINGTON — Baseball players don’t usually smile when they fall a few feet short of a home run, but Anthony Volpe did exactly that after taking Jack Leiter to the warning track on Monday night.
As Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford caught the ball, Leiter let out a sigh of relief. Volpe, meanwhile, flashed a grin as he passed his former high school teammate on the mound.
Lighthearted moment between two high school teammates, Jack Leiter and Anthony Volpe, after Volpe nearly took Leiter deep.pic.twitter.com/eHu8ecXhVh
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 3, 2024
“I knew I missed it, but I didn’t know how the ball flies here too well,” Volpe said of his second at-bat after the Yankees’ 8-4 win at Globe Life Field. “I knew it probably had a chance.”
Volpe added that he and Leiter didn’t exchange any banter after the 373-foot drive, just smiles.
“I was hoping he got that one,” Aaron Boone said. “I’m sure that was pretty cool for the both of them to square off like that. I actually saw when Volpe flew out to the fence, I saw him kind of catch eyes and have a laugh about it. It’s pretty cool. I had that fortune of playing against people you’re close to, whether it’s growing up or college. To get to do it is pretty neat.”
Volpe and Leiter became close at Morristown, N.J.’s Delbarton School, where they won a Non-Public A State Championship in 2019. They also played on Team USA together as teens.
Naturally, a lot of people from back home were watching Monday’s matchup. However, the Rangers didn’t officially announce Leiter was starting until later in the day on Sunday, making it hard for some to get to Texas on time.
“A lot of people were trying, but they got work tomorrow, all of our friends,” Volpe said. “So if there was a red eye flight or something, they’d all be there.
“It’s obviously a cool day, cool moment, but having everyone support me and him through every step of the way, it’s cool to celebrate moments like that.”
The Yankees drafted Volpe 30th overall in 2019, and they also used a 20th-round pick on Leiter. However, Leiter, the son of former Yankee Al Leiter and cousin of current Yankee Mark Leiter Jr., went to Vanderbilt, as expected. The Rangers drafted him second overall in 2021.
Monday was the first time Volpe and Leiter faced each other in an official game. Volpe recorded a single in his very first at-bat against the righty, who ultimately gave up five earned runs in just as many innings.
“Super meaningful,” Volpe said of sharing the field with his ex-classmate. “I know how hard he worked throughout everything. We kind of went a little bit different paths, but to always reconvene and have each other to lean on with whatever we’re going through, super special.”
