As the Yankees celebrated their ALCS victory over the Guardians, Anthony Volpe described his first true trip to the World Series as “a dream come true” yet “better than anything I ever dreamed of.”
A childhood Yankees fan, Volpe went on to say that he had been to the Fall Classic before — in his imagination. In reality, the shortstop, who grew up in New York City and Northern New Jersey, attended a few playoff games, but never the World Series.
However, Volpe did go to the team’s 2009 championship parade. A photo documenting the occasion went viral after the Yankees won the ALCS. At the time, it seemed as if Volpe might soon return to the Canyon of Heroes, he himself a champion being cheered from the streets.
Anthony Volpe at the 2009 World Series Parade
(via @DaniWex) pic.twitter.com/eeiJ2BArBX
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 20, 2024
On Tuesday, Volpe kept that now-unlikely dream alive, as his third-inning grand slam in Game 4 helped the Yankees avoid getting swept by the Dodgers in the World Series. The second-year shortstop’s big blast came off Daniel Hudson, who delivered a flat slider over the lower, inside corner of the plate in the Yankees’ 11-4 win.
Volpe turned on the pitch, sending it 390 feet over the left field wall to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead. As he circled the bases and crossed home plate, teammates celebrated the full-circle moment — and a slam that helped them stave off elimination.
Grand Slam courtesy of Anthony Volpe. pic.twitter.com/tHOmVu9DLJ
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 30, 2024
Volpe later hustled his way into an eighth-inning double, took third on a double steal, and scored on an Alex Verdugo grounder with the infield in. He finished the night 2-for-3 with three runs scored, four RBI, one walk and two steals.
While Tuesday marked Volpe’s first signature playoff game — the hometown crowd loudly cheered for him on defense in the ninth — the 23-year-old has put together a respectable postseason debut.
He was hitting a modest .244 over 12 games entering Game 4, but his .380 on-base percentage marked a drastic improvement after he posted a .293 clip during the regular season. Volpe has also been making stronger contact and chasing less since making a few adjustments, which have allowed to him to get behind the ball better, prior to the postseason.
“I think he’s been excellent,” Aaron Boone said before Game 4. “He’s definitely hit better than his numbers would even suggest. I think everyone that’s watched every one of our games, you see his at-bats game in, game out have been excellent.
“I think he’s grown a lot this postseason.”
Volpe’s regular season left a lot of folks wondering what type of hitter he will be long-term.
After flattening his bat path over the offseason, he clearly lost some pop compared to an uneven rookie campaign. He also didn’t provide much in the contact department, especially after a hot start to the season that featured lots of BABIP luck.
Volpe ended the season with a .243/.293/.364 slash line, an 86 wRC+, 12 homers, 60 RBI and 28 stolen bases. He hit just .177 in September, yet he’s swung the bat as well as he has in his young career since the calendar flipped to October.
Now Boone is hoping that Volpe’s postseason success can serve as a “springboard” for the already-elite defender.
“I feel like we’re going to look up in a couple of years and see a really, really strong offensive player,” Boone said. “It doesn’t always happen in a meteoric rise for some people, but I feel like he’s moving the needle in a really good way, and I feel like this playoff is showing that a little bit.”
