Eventually, Repoz hit 82 HRs and carved out a somewhat successful career in California and then Japan. But his name endures. And whenever a Yankee prospect gets anointed as the "next" Catfish, or Goose, or Reggie, or whatever - the next somebody - the silent presence of Roger Repoz stalks our world.
Because it's it's starting to define Anthony Volpe.
Ever since that afternoon in 2023 - "Volpening Day," when the Yankees made the former first-round pick their starting SS - an invisible cloud has loomed.
The Next Jeter.
That year, age 22, he played 159 games. Like Jeter. In 2024, he made it 160. Like Jeter. As a rookie, he hit 21 HRs. In year two, he revised his swing and raised his BA 35 points. He won a Gold Glove. He became the infield lodestone. Everything pointed to a great career. A son of Jersey. The signature number 11. He was the future, and 2025 would be his launching pad.
Welp, maybe not. Lately, when Volpe steps to the plate, you feel the weight of a thousand million disappointments. Over the last week, he is 0-for-24, and there is not a rally he cannot kill. His botched DP grounder cost us a game against the miserable Angels. His attempted steal of 3B helped blow one against Boston. Last night, time and again, he came up with a chance to effectively win the game. He always failed.
His average has fallen to .228. You wonder how much farther it will plummet. Almost worse, as a sign of his desperation, Volpe has stolen 8 bases and been thrown out 7 times. That's terrible.
The wandering eyes of the Yankiverse - always lighting upon The Next Big Thing - may be shifting. In Double A Somerset, another former first-round pick, George Lombard Jr., has become the new hope.
Lombard - the lone Yankee prospect on most Top 100 lists - tore up high Single A, batting .329, before being promoted. At Somerset, over 40 games, he's hitting a meager .213. But there are signs. Three nights ago, after making a dazzling defensive play from short left field - the announcer invoked Jeter - Lombard hit his 2nd HR. He is a hitting streak away from becoming the Next Yankee Hope.
Listen: There will be no next Jeter. There was never a next Mickey, or a next Yogi, or a next Mariano. There will never be another Judge. Great stars don't clone well. But their enduring presence can chew up a young player. And maybe Volpe's time will come in another city, where he can just be himself. Repoz found himself with the Angels and the Yakult Swallows. Sad, in a way. Victorious, in another.
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14 comments:
Volpe's getting a day off on Sunday, when the O's send out a starter that he's batting 1 for 11 against. Today, he's in, facing a starter that he's hit pretty handily to date.
But in reality, he should be benched for a while. At least a while. There's no aspect of his game that isn't potentially deadly. He doesn't hit, he doesn't have baserunning smarts, and he repeatedly chokes defensively in key situations. If he ever had "it", he's lost it.
In other news, this caught my eye:
Gunilla Knutson, Star of ‘Take It Off’ Shaving Cream Ads, Dies at 84
Seemed like a nice gal.
And where the hell are all the posts? Did the solar storm hit early and fry the server? (Beware...the effects of this storm are supposed to hit today and the US grid might have some problems. Cell phone networks could be disrupted, too. It's a big forking storm.)
There's already a big forking storm in the US JM. Solar storm would barely make page three of the Daily Shitstorm
Volpe needs to go. For his own benefit and the benefit of the team he needs to go somewhere - Los Angeles, Arizona, the fruited plains - somewhere not New York. Whether he's the dumbest player I've ever seen or just "wilting under the pressure" he needs a change of scenery, some low pressure place where a low baseball IQ is hardly noticed.
Anthony's had a long runway to get off the ground, and sometimes he does, but just when he maybe starts to climb a little he drops like a Dreamliner.
"Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical."
“Volpe is 90% mental and he probably needs a physical.” ~ the ghost of Casey Stengel
Lolz
There's nothing more I can add about Volpe that hasn't already been highlighted. What stands out is his complete lack of understanding of the situation when he comes to the plate. What he needs to accomplish and how the pitcher might try to counter that. There is no sign of growth after three years. What's worse is the organization's lack of competence to remediate the problem.
Interestingly, there was an article published yesterday regarding Clint Frazier's frustration with the conflicting advice he received from various sources and the attempt to remake players into what they perceived they should be, often against their strengths. Hmmm, where have we heard this before? Everywhere!
"Clint Frazier, former Yankees outfielder, expressed frustration with the increasing reliance on analytics and "rocket scientists" in baseball, particularly concerning setting lineups. He believes this analytical approach, while important, sometimes overshadows the value of traditional baseball knowledge and player experience.
Frazier also recalled a time when he was told by an analyst that "players getting hot" wasn't a real phenomenon, suggesting a belief that a player's performance was fixed, regardless of recent success. He disagreed with this idea, stating that sometimes you "have to run with that" and that it's important to use your eyes to recognize when a player is on a hot streak. This sentiment suggests that Frazier felt that the emphasis on analytics sometimes came at the expense of common sense and a recognition of the human element in the game.
Additionally, Frazier has mentioned realizing he didn't know as much about baseball as he thought, and credited Texas Rangers hitting coach Tim Hyers with helping him improve by focusing on fundamental aspects of his swing. This implies that while he may have felt overwhelmed by some analytical approaches, he also recognized the value of good hitting instruction."
Where are all the posts, indeed.
Yesterday I mentioned that likely were hacked by some Yankee fan sleeper cell but, but, but …. Why?
While Frazier is probably right about the Yankees' mismanagement of him, his whole career seems to be defined by almost personally disordered deflection. Does that guy ever blame himself for anything?
A 6-game losing streak forced them to awaken. That and the extremely hot weather.
Like most players, no. But, at least he could point to a few walls running into his head as part of the problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEji28pikE0
Oh, and in today's NY Post, an article about Volpe's hitting problems with the same excuses from BaBoone and the hitting coach. "The timing is just a bit off." LOL....the same excuses for everybody.
https://nypost.com/2025/06/21/sports/anthony-volpes-slump-hits-0-for-24-timing-and-rhythm-a-little-bit-off/
Just click on older posts. They're still there.
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