Take a look at the moment when New York Yankees top prospect Anthony Volpe found out he was making the team’s Opening Day roster.
New York Yankees fans followed the team intently throughout spring training, but most so at the shortstop competition. With Oswald Peraza and Isiah Kiner-Falefa seemingly the favorites, top prospect Anthony Volpe made an incredible impression on everyone with his play.
The 21-year-old was rewarded with a spot on the Opening Day roster, where he will undoubtedly be the team’s starting shortstop.
The Yankees’ social media team filmed Volpe’s meeting with manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman. Boone teased Volpe a bit, saying how he only had “20-something games” in Triple-A, but said he thinks that his development “should happen in the big leagues.” That was when Boone extended his hand and congratulated Volpe on making the Opening Day roster.
Watch Anthony Volpe find out he made Yankees Opening Day roster
Shortly after finding out that he made the team, Volpe spoke with reporters. As he answered questions, Volpe had a huge smile on his face, and expressed his excitement to be playing on Opening Day.
The video comes courtesy of Greg Joyce of the New York Post.
“Incredible, I’m just so excited, it’s hard for me to even put into words,” said Volpe.
As spring training progressed Volpe made it harder and more difficult for the Yankees to even send him back down to the minors. He played error-free baseball at shortstop throughout the spring, he showed off his hitting skills in the batter’s box, and his base-running abilities.
In his last spring training game on March 25 against the Philadelphia Phillies, Volpe recorded a single, a double, and a triple, falling one home run shy of the cycle.
This spring, Volpe recorded a .314 batting average, a .417 on-base percentage, a .647 slugging percentage, three home runs, five RBI, five stolen bases, 13 runs scored, and 16 hits in 17 games played.
Volpe emerged from spring training as the Yankees’ new shortstop, and he has the chance to start on March 30 against the San Francisco Giants. It is quite the story for the New Jersey native — making his major league debut in Yankees pinstripes on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium.