NEW YORK — CC Sabathia has never been afraid to speak his mind, and when it comes to the struggles of Anthony Volpe, the Yankees legend unveiled some naked truth.
The former Cy Young winner, who led New York to its last World Series title in 2009, said the pressure of wearing pinstripes is unlike any other stage in baseball. He believes that reality has fueled both the team’s inconsistency and the harsh spotlight now centered on Volpe.
“There have been so many peaks and valleys throughout the season,” Sabathia said. “I think if they can just play consistently, for a month, and just see how it goes. Catching the baseball, pitching well, getting hits when you need them. I think, you know, not just relying on a home run, but being able to manufacture runs. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
The Yankees have hit more home runs than any other team in 2025. But they also rank near the top of the league in errors, a combination that has created frustration during a playoff race that grows tighter with every passing day.
Volpe singled out after key strikeout
Corey Sipkin for New York Post
The latest spotlight on Anthony Volpe came Friday in the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays. With runners on the corners and one out in the second inning, the 24-year-old chased a pitch out of the zone and struck out.
As he walked back to the dugout, boos echoed through Yankee Stadium. A video posted by the Talkin Yanks podcast on X showed the homegrown shortstop showered with jeers, a sign of a fan base reaching its breaking point.
Volpe entered the weekend hitting just .208, down from .243 last year. The decline has been especially painful because he won a Gold Glove in 2023, offering a glimpse of stability in the field. Now, his 18 errors lead the American League, and his at-bats in key moments have drawn louder criticism.
Anthony Volpe commits his 18th error of the season, the second-most in MLB, trailing only Elly De La Cruz’s 20. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/3sRSZctxEB
For Sabathia, the message to fans and media is simple: let the young shortstop breathe.
“You know what’s crazy? I think it’s like people need to relax,” Sabathia said. “Miguel Andujar got ran out of here because we said he couldn’t catch ground balls. I mean, that guy’s still playing in the big leagues today. It’s hard to develop young talent here. Just because of the demand, right? Like, we’re trying to win the World Series every year. You don’t have time for guys to go through growing pains. I mean, I feel like Gary Sanchez could still be catching for us if we had patience. If we were able to … like if … as a fan base, as a city, let these kids go through whatever they’re going to go through. The game’s hard to play, man. It’s very difficult.”
Sabathia’s words strike at the core of the Yankees’ identity. Winning has always been the standard, but that expectation leaves little room for development. Volpe, a first-round pick from New Jersey, has carried the weight of being viewed as Derek Jeter’s successor.
Comparison to Jeter called unfair
CC Sabathia said that burden has made Volpe’s situation even more difficult.
“It’s hard to come up in this,” Sabathia said. “You watch so many guys, you watch so many veterans come here and struggle. Can you imagine a 21-year-old or a 20-year-old that comes here and all the pressures on their shoulders. I think Volpe gets a tough break because people want to compare him to Derek [Jeter] all the time, and like, hey, he needs to replace Derek. Well, what about [Didi Gregorius]? Dee replaced Derek beautifully. Hit back-to-back 20 home run seasons. Played a great shortstop. Nobody ever talked about Derek being gone when Dee was playing shortstop.”
The constant comparison to Derek Jeter, nearly a unanimous Hall of Famer, has hung over Volpe since his debut. Unlike Gregorius, who carved his own identity after Jeter’s retirement, Volpe is being measured against a legend in real time.
Numbers tell the story
The struggles are clear in the numbers. Through September 7, Volpe owns a .208 batting average with a .270 on-base percentage and .373 slugging mark. His .643 OPS ranks near the bottom among qualified shortstops.
Since August 1, his production has dipped even further: a .185 average, .232 OBP, and .601 OPS, paired with a 63 wRC+. Fangraphs credits him with just 0.8 WAR this season, far below the 1.9 and 3.5 he produced in his first two years.
Defensively, the metrics have also slipped. He has saved four runs with his glove but has been charged with -8 Outs Above Average. That combination has turned a once reliable defender into a daily question mark.
A thorn for the Yankees
Sabathia also pointed to inconsistency as the Yankees’ biggest issue as they chase the postseason. The team is now at 79-63, three games behind Toronto in the AL East, with 20 contests left to play. Their 18-23 division record has been a major thorn in their side.
The Yankees jumped out early in Friday’s game against the Blue Jays, but the squandered chance with Volpe at the plate proved costly. Such missed opportunities have fueled their uneven play in September.
“There have been so many peaks and valleys,” Sabathia said. “Catching the baseball, pitching well, getting hits when you need them. Not just relying on a home run but being able to manufacture runs.”
Sabathia knows the weight of the uniform
Sabathia is no stranger to the New York spotlight. He anchored the 2009 championship team and endured the playoff drought from 2013 through 2016. He also went public about his battle with alcoholism, a fight he called the hardest of his life.
That experience, paired with more than a decade in the Bronx, shapes his perspective. He knows what it takes to survive as a Yankee. He also knows how unforgiving the stage can be.
When Sabathia says the game is “very difficult,” it comes from a place of experience. And in his view, Volpe’s struggles deserve context, not condemnation.
