VOLPE
Anthony

• 1. Professional career
• 1.1. Minor leagues
• 1.2. Major leagues

Anthony Michael Volpe is an American professional baseball shortstop for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023, winning the American League Gold Glove Award at shortstop in his rookie year.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Yankees selected Volpe in the first round, with the 30th overall selection of the 2019 MLB draft. He signed on June 10, receiving a $2.7 million signing bonus, and made his professional debut with the Pulaski Yankees of the Rookie Advanced Appalachian League. Over 34 games, he batted .215 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. During the COVID-19 shutdown, which resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season, Volpe worked to gain muscle and improve his swing.

To begin the 2021 season, Volpe was assigned to the Tampa Tarpons of the Low-A Southeast. After slashing .302/.455/.623 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs in 54 games played, Volpe was promoted to the Hudson Valley Renegades of High-A East. He spent a full season with the club, hitting 27 home runs and stealing 33 bases. Volpe is the minor leagues' first 20-homer, 50-steal player since Andruw Jones in 1996.

The Yankees assigned Volpe to the Somerset Patriots of the Double-A Eastern League for the start of the 2022 season. On June 26, Volpe hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning against the visiting Hartford Yard Goats. His solo homer delivered the Eastern League Northeast Division first-half title to the Somerset Patriots in a winner-take-all game between the division's top two teams. In July, Volpe represented the American League at the All-Star Futures Game. Volpe batted .252 with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs in 109 games for Somerset and was promoted to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Triple-A International League on September 2.

Major leagues

In 2023, the Yankees invited Volpe to spring training as a non-roster player, where he competed with Oswald Peraza for the starting shortstop role. On March 26, 2023, the Yankees announced that Volpe had earned a spot on the team's Opening Day roster as the starting shortstop. In his major league debut, Volpe went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base. Volpe recorded his first major league hit in the second game of the season on April 1.

On April 14, during a game against the Minnesota Twins, Volpe hit his first major league home run. Volpe started the 2023 season by going 10-for-10 in steal attempts. On May 10, 2023, during a game against the Oakland Athletics, Volpe hit his first career grand slam. He became the Yankees' first rookie shortstop to hit a grand slam.

During a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 13, after laying down a bunt single, stealing second and third bases, and coming home on a wild pitch, Volpe set a record as the first player in Yankees history to steal his first 13 career bases without being caught. He passed Joe DiMaggio, who stole 12 straight safely in three consecutive seasons (1936–38) until he was caught in 1939. On May 23, Volpe had his first walk-off plate appearance with an RBI when he hit a sac fly to deep centerfield to drive in the winning run against the Baltimore Orioles.

On September 1, Volpe hit his 20th home run during a game against the Detroit Tigers. Volpe also became the 15th MLB rookie with a 20 home run, 20 stolen base season, joining rookie Corbin Carroll as the second rookie this season to achieve this feat. The only other rookies with two 20-20 seasons were Julio Rodríguez and Bobby Witt Jr. (2022), and Ellis Burks and Devon White (1987). Volpe also became the third rookie shortstop in MLB history to pass the 20 home run, 20 stolen base mark, alongside Bobby Witt Jr. and Nomar Garciaparra. Volpe was one of two rookies to record at least 20 home runs, 20 stolen bases, and 10 defensive runs saved in a single season since Mike Trout in 2012. He finished his rookie season with 21 home runs, 60 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, 23 doubles, and a .209/.283/.383 slash line. He won the AL Gold Glove Award at shortstop, becoming the first Yankee rookie to win the award.

On April 1, 2024, Volpe recorded his first four-hit game.