SCRANTON, Pa. — Anthony Volpe had a simple job in the fifth inning Wednesday. Move from first base to home. Spencer Jones had just put a ball off the wall. Two outs were already on the board.
Anthony Volpe slowed down anyway.
He decelerated rounding second, apparently unsure of the out count or convinced the ball had left the yard. By the time he figured it out and tried to accelerate, the window had closed. He held at third rather than risk being thrown out.
The play was caught on video, spread and shared widely. The broadcasters called it out live. Yankees fans weighed in from every corner of the internet. For one afternoon at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the already complicated Yankees debate around Volpe’s future got a little louder.
What happened on the basepaths
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders beat the Worcester Red Sox 9-7 on Wednesday. Volpe was on first base in the fifth when Spencer Jones launched a long drive off the wall for a double, scoring a run. With two outs, Volpe should have been running on contact from first base and scoring easily.
Instead, he hesitated at second and surrendered the chance to score. A Yanquiel Fernandez home run on the very next at-bat brought Volpe home anyway, but the Yankees baserunning error was already on the broadcast.
The television crew flagged it immediately. With the clip circulating online, the criticism was blunt and direct.
“I’m not sure how Volpe didn’t score here,” one of the RailRiders broadcasters said. “Look at him slow out as he gets to second base. Did he think this was gone? Two outs, you’ve got to be moving.”
Beyond the fifth inning, Volpe had a difficult afternoon. He grounded out and flew out in his first two at-bats, reached on a fielder’s choice in the fifth, then struck out, lined out and flew out to close his day. It was not the kind of performance that builds a Yankees recall case.
Yankees fans shout out
DoubleH @HdubbsH remarked: “He broke down his stride once he hit 2nd base. He wasn’t aggressive once that ball was hit. Then tried to pick it up again and was given the stop sign. Parts of his game are broken.”
According to Yankeesource @YankeeSource: “George Lombard was forced out by a Volpe groundout, and he would have scored on this play……I think details matter, especially when the player is a 25 year old who lost his starting spot. Volpe screwing up on the bases just happened to be a part of that.”
Sportsish @sportsishh predicted: “You’d think being sent down to AAA would light a fire under him. Guess not.”
YG @Dirty6laze tweeted: “Volpe has no feel on the bases . Another reason cabby and lombard should be our only options at SS.”
BD @Bri_Dale was harsher in his words: “Keep this guy down there, he’s not an actual major league player.”
robin james @robinjames007 claimed: “That doesn’t help his chances at coming up. Hard to see what help he was getting from his third-base coach.”
HedgeHider @HedgeHider1978 blasted Volpe: “Volpe was sucking… he was sucking… the guy has the baseball IQ of a BRICK! How long are we going to do this with him????”
A shortstop in limbo
The baserunning gaffe landed at a particularly awkward moment. The Yankees optioned Volpe to Triple-A three days earlier, on Sunday, after reinstating him from the 10-day injured list. He had completed 13 rehab games, nine with Double-A Somerset and four at Triple-A, recovering from left shoulder surgery last October.
The Yankees sent him down not because of a setback but because of what Jose Caballero had been doing in his absence. Through 34 games this season, Caballero was slashing .259/.306/.405 with four home runs, 12 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 17 attempts. His defense had drawn particular praise from Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
Volpe, 25, went 11-for-44 (.250) across his 13 rehab games. That modest production, combined with Caballero’s strong play, made the Yankees’ call straightforward.
Volpe’s own words on a situation he cannot control
Volpe spoke to the New York Post’s Dan Martin on Tuesday, a day before the baserunning play. Questions about his Yankees timeline were unavoidable. He chose his words carefully.
“At the end of the day, all I’ll say about it is I’m excited to help the team win the World Series,” Volpe said. “That’s my everyday focus. I’m just focused on what I can do in the moment and the work I can put in to be ready whenever my number is called.”
He would not say whether the optioning surprised him. He did not push back or express frustration publicly. His answer was disciplined. But the baserunning lapse a day later handed critics another data point in a narrative that has dogged him for two years.
The Yankees are not writing him off. But Wednesday was a reminder of how small the margin is when you are fighting to reclaim a job. One sloppy read on a routine two-out ball disappears in a normal game. When the video spreads and the announcers pile on, it stays in the conversation longer than anyone wants.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
