Food for thought: Rookie Anthony Volpe serving up hits since memorable meal
Anthony Volpe of the New York Yankees dives home for a run against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
From the “Never Let the Facts Get in the Way of a Good Story” department:
Anthony Volpe’s recent resurgence isn’t because of his mother’s chicken parmigiana (although it’s probably quite tasty).
And Volpe wasn’t restored to the leadoff spot in the Yankees’ lineup on Thursday night vs. Baltimore righthander Kyle Bradish solely because of how hot he’s been since that memorable meal.
Volpe hit leadoff on Thursday, manager Aaron Boone said, because his first choice in Jake Bauers was off having an MRI after injuring his shoulder during a dive in the outfield on Wednesday.
That doesn’t mean Volpe didn’t earn his first start in the No. 1 spot since May 11.
“Just kind of the level of Anthony's at-bats, really, over the last several weeks now,” Boone said. “Just felt like I want to do that with only having two lefties in there. Create a little spacing there. Not much more than that to it.”
Uh, there’s a little more to it.
It had been 20 games going into Thursday since Volpe’s much-ballyhooed June 12 family dinner on a Yankees off-day with his former minor league teammates in Watchung, N.J.
Over that span, the rookie was 23-for-65 (.354) with five doubles, one triple and three home runs, including a solo shot to right in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 6-3 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday.
Still, who are we to trifle with what is certain to become an all-time legendary tale? Who are we to say Volpe can’t pick up a few extra bucks by becoming a chicken parmigiana pitchman?
The facts are this: On June 12, Volpe and Yankees minor league catching prospect Austin Wells watched I-Pad videos of Volpe’s swings from his Double-A days while eating chicken parm and spaghetti (somehow the spaghetti has gotten lost in the retelling of the tale, an unfair relegating to the dustbin of history of what was probably some primo pasta).
Volpe noticed his batting stance was much more closed when he was having success in the minors. So he decided to go back to it.
Voila! Fixed! Pass the garlic bread!
Volpe was batting .186 at the time. There were calls to send him to Triple-A, none of which were coming from the Yankees, who from owner Hal Steinbrenner to general manager Brian Cashman to Boone stood steadfastly behind the 22-year-old-shortstop.
“No,” Boone said on Thursday when asked if the Yankees ever considering sending down Volpe for his own sake. “There was never any question about the player we still believe he’s going to be, and is. So, no.”
The day after the dinner, Volpe went out and got a pair of doubles against the Mets. He hasn’t stopped hitting since.
"Look,” Boone said, “there's things that you're going to do as a hitter. Some guys make little subtle adjustments. Some guys make more larger adjustments that are more noticeable, maybe within a season, maybe year to year, whatever it may be. Those are things that go on. I think the adjustments he's made, it's kind of unlocked him and got him in a better place.”
Volpe went into Thursday batting .223 overall with 12 home runs, 31 RBIs, a .697 OPS and an OPS plus of 92 (100 is considered league average).
Over his last 10 games going into Thursday, Volpe had been well above average, going 16-for-37 (.432) with a 1.150 OPS.
“The at-bats have felt way better,” Volpe said last week. “My takes, what pitch I’m swinging at, what pitch I’m taking, I just feel a lot more comfortable. Feels pretty much back to normal.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is Volpe’s attitude. It’s always good. He’s always smiling, whether he’s gone 0-for-4 or 3-for-4.
Volpe went 3-for-4 on June 27 for his first (and going into Thursday, only) three-hit game in his 87-game career. He had multiple hits in five straight games during the recent road trip.
Something tells us he’s going to have a few more of those in his career. More multi-hit games and more of mom’s chicken parm. Even if one really doesn’t have anything to do with the other.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.