What’s on Tap: Previewing Thursday’s action

By May 19, 2016, 3:56 PM EDT
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There were two afternoon games today which I totally didn’t realize were happening or else I would’ve done this earlier. What am I, a baseball media professional or something? Oh well. As I write this the Mariners are about to beat the Orioles and the Brewers are holding a lead against the Cubs.

Most of the games go down tonight. Because I’m traveling tomorrow I gave Bill the night off and he’s going to cover the day tomorrow. If something newsy happens this evening I’ll pop in to write about it. I just hope it happens after, say, 9pm because I’m going out to dinner. I’ll do what I have to do, of course, because I am nothing if not a blogging professional, but I know from experience that women just LOVE It when you interrupt a date for a “blogging emergency.” In other news, I’m going to probably die alone, surrounded by cats.

Unless I get married, in which case it’ll be a lot like this. Gotta be yourself, you know. Hi, Kevin!

The matchups tonight include a nice Steven Strasburg–Matt Harvey tilt, assuming Matt Harvey remembers that he’s Matt Harvey. Chris Sale goes for win number 9 against zero losses. I want him to win 30 this year. Not because I care about how he or the White Sox do but because I really want to spend all of August and September talking about what pitcher wins really mean. That’s always a fun discussion filled with nuance and insight. Both Jeff Samardzija and Jhoulys Chacin pitch tonight which is significant mostly because I hate spelling “Samardzija” and “Jhoulys.” If my recent run of cosmic luck holds, each will pitch a no-hitter tonight and my Ctrl, C, and V keys will break down from overuse. But like I said: I’m nothing if not a professional.

Atlanta Braves (Mike Foltynewicz) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (Jeff Locke), 7:05 PM EDT, PNC Park

Cleveland Indians (Josh Tomlin) @ Cincinnati Reds (Tim Adleman), 7:10 PM EDT, Great American Ball Park

Washington Nationals (Steven Strasburg) @ New York Mets (Matt Harvey), 7:10 PM EDT, Citi Field

Colorado Rockies (Jon Gray) @ St. Louis Cardinals (Michael Wacha), 7:15 PM EDT, Busch Stadium

Houston Astros (Collin McHugh) @ Chicago White Sox (Chris Sale), 8:10 PM EDT, U.S. Cellular Field

Toronto Blue Jays (Marco Estrada) @ Minnesota Twins (Ervin Santana), 8:10 PM EDT, Target Field

San Francisco Giants (Jeff Samardzija) @ San Diego Padres (James Shields), 9:10 PM EDT, Petco Park

Los Angeles Dodgers (Ross Stripling) @ Los Angeles Angels (Jhoulys Chacin), 10:05 PM EDT, Angel Stadium of Anaheim

New York Yankees (Ivan Nova) @ Oakland Athletics (Kendall Graveman), 10:05 PM EDT, Oakland Coliseum

Anthony Volpe, 21, wins Yankees’ starting shortstop job

Associated PressMar 27, 2023, 12:02 PM EDT
Dave Nelson-USA TODAY Sp
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TAMPA, Fla. — Anthony Volpe grew up watching Derek Jeter star at shortstop for the New York Yankees.

Now, the 21-year-old is getting the chance to be the Yankees’ opening day shortstop against the San Francisco Giants.

The team announced after a 6-2 win over Toronto in spring training that Volpe had won the spot. New York manager Aaron Boone called the kid into his office to deliver the news.

“My heart was beating pretty hard,” said Volpe, rated one of baseball’s best prospects. “Incredible. I’m just so excited. It’s hard for me to even put into words.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, hitting coach Dillon Lawson and bench coach Carlos Mendoza were also present.

Volpe was able to share the news with his parents and other family members near the Yankees’ dugout and said it is something he will never forget.

“It was pretty emotional,” Volpe said. “It was just an unbelievable moment to share with them.”

Volpe, who grew up a Yankees fan, lived in Manhattan as a child before moving to New Jersey. Jeter was his favorite player.

“It’s very surreal,” Volpe said. “I’ve only ever been to games at Yankee Stadium and for the most part only watched him play there.”

Volpe is hitting .314 with three homers, five RBIs and a .417 on-base percentage in 17 Grapefruit League games. He has just 22 games of experience at Triple-A.

Spring training started with Volpe, Oswald Peraza and holdover Isiah Kiner-Falefa competing for the everyday shortstop job. Kiner-Falefa was shifted into a utility role midway through camp, and Peraza was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday evening.

“While certainly the performance was there, he killed it between the lines,” Boone said of Volpe. “All the other things that we’ve been hearing about showed up. There’s an energy he plays the game with, and an instinct that he has that is evident. He really checked every box that we could have had for him. Absolutely kicked the door in and earned his opportunity.”

Volpe arrived in Florida in December to work out at the Yankees’ minor league complex.

“He’s earned the right to take that spot, and we’re excited for him and excited for us,” Cashman said. “He just dominated all sides of the ball during February and March, and that bodes well obviously for him as we move forward.”

Volpe was selected out of high school with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft from Delbarton School in New Jersey. He passed up a college commitment to Vanderbilt to sign with the Yankees.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get into the organization,” Volpe said. “This day, this feeling, this moment was kind of what I’ve worked my whole life for when I made that big decision.”

“Right now it’s crazy,” he added. “I don’t even know what lies ahead but Thursday I just want to go out and play, and have fun.”