Right after the final out to Thursday night’s 10-4 Yankees win over the White Sox, YES Network field reporter Meredith Marakovits did a short on-field interview with Cody Bellinger.
Good choice.
Bellinger had a big game going 3-for-4 with a first-inning, two-run homer.
WFAN radio Suzyn Waldman’s pick for her star of the game field interview was Anthony Volpe, who greeted the selection by announcing that he was happy to be there in that setting again.
His double to left, single to right, stolen base and sacrifice fly in four plate appearances sure felt good because he went into the night sitting on an 0-for-19 and 1-for-37.
Volpe also made maybe the best fielding play of the game going into the hole to make a pick and then whip a good throw to first on the run for a sixth-inning out. That’s the kind of defense the Yankees except from Volpe, a Gold Glove winner as a rookie in 2023 and finalist last season who leads the league in errors this year.
Weighing everything though, this was not a great night for Volpe.
Before the hits and nice play in the field, mixed in was a boot on a second-inning routine grounder that ended up costing the Yankees four runs, which was all of their early big lead.
When Miguel Vargas hit a two-out grand slam off Yankees starter Will Warren, the White Sox had four unearned runs to turn a 4-0 game into a 4-4 tie.
The Yankees were playing a last-place ballclub that is 38 games under .500, so they were able to overcome the error to win in a breeze. But you have to wonder if management and the coaching staff is considering a lot more shortstop starts for Jose Caballero, who was in the lineup twice for Volpe last weekend and three times in the Yankees’ last 11 games.
Volpe’s 18 errors are the second most in the majors ahead of only Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz’s 20 and the most by a Yankees shortstop since Derek Jeter’s 22 in 2000. Also, his .962 fielding percentage is tied for fourth lowest by a Yankees shortstop since 1995 and his Baseball Savant minus-7 Outs Above Average ranks tied for 30th among 34 qualifying shortstops.
Counting his time with the Rays this season, Caballero has a .976 fielding percentage and three errors in 34 games at shortstop, 31 of them starts.
So far, the Yankees say they’re sticking with Volpe as their primary shortstop. Despite the results, they still regard his fielding as elite and insist he has all the necessary tools to be a much better hitter.
His 18 homers and 66 RBI in 132 games already are career-highs with a month of games to play, but his .207 average is down from .243 last season and his 23.9 percent strikeout rate is slightly up from 22.6 in 2024.
Volpe’s at-bats were better on Thursday after he had sprinkled a few good ones into his recent bad slump.
“Hopefully it’s something to get him going,” manager Aaron Boone said. “To finish it off with a quality at-bat for a sac fly for the tack on run there, too … After the error there in the second inning, I thought he made three really stellar plays. So it’s good to see him bounce back from that. We need to get him going.
“Obviously he’s such an important part of what we do, so hopefully this is something he can build on.”
Volpe has felt a little snakebit in the last week.
“It’s obviously frustrating because at the end of the day you want to get results and help the team,” Volpe said. “When you’re not doing it, it’s frustrating. But at the same time, I felt it was close and I was in a good spot and I was having good swings and putting together pretty good at-bats.”
“I think I’ve been barreling up the ball.”
Boone partially agrees.
“Going back the last four games, there’s been an at-bat in that each game where he hasn’t got rewarded where he squared it up,” he said. “In and around that, he’s had some at-bats that haven’t gone well. So a little more consistent, little more disciplined tonight and good to see him get some results.”
YANKEES SHORTSTOPS
MOST ERRORS SINCE 1995
24 – Derek Jeter, 1996
22 – Derek Jeter, 2000
18 – x-Anthony Volpe, 2025
18 – Gleyber Torres, 2021
18 – Derek Jeter, 2007
18 – Derek Jeter, 1997
17 – Anthony Volpe, 2024
16 – Anthony Volpe, 2023
x-through Aug. 28
LOWEST FIELDING PCT. SINCE 1995
.933 – Gleyber Torres, 2020
.952 – Gleyber Torres, 2021
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