Anthony Michael Volpe (born April 28, 2001) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). The Yankees selected Volpe in the first round of the

2019 MLB draft The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2023, winning the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual Fielding (baseball), fielding performances. It is awar ...

at shortstop in his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

year.

Early life and amateur career

Volpe was born on April 28, 2001, at Mount Sinai Hospital in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Both of Volpe's parents are doctors. His father, Michael, is a

urologist Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''-logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary system and the reproductive organs. Org ...

and his mother, Isabelle, is an

anesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative medicine, perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critica ...

. Michael is of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent and Isabelle is Filipino. His paternal grandparents were born in

Naples, Italy Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, and his mother was born and raised in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Anthony Volpe lived on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

of Manhattan as a child. His family had partial season tickets to see the New York Yankees and he became a Yankees fan. He attended the Yankees'

2009 World Series The 2009 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2009 season. As the 105th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National Le ...

championship parade. Volpe and his family moved to

Watchung, New Jersey Watchung () is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located approximately west of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,449, an increase of 648 (+11.2%) from the 2010 ce ...

, when he was in the

fourth grade Fourth grade (also 4th Grade or Grade 4) is the fourth year of formal or compulsory education. It is the fourth year of primary school. Children in fourth grade are usually 9–10 years old. Argentina's equivalent In Argentina, the minimum age ...

. Volpe attended

Delbarton School Delbarton School is a private, all-male Catholic college-preparatory school in Morristown, New Jersey, serving seventh through twelfth grades. It is independently directed by the Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey in Morristown and is locat ...

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, where he played for the school's baseball team and was a teammate of Jack Leiter, who is an MLB pitcher. As a senior, he batted .488 with seven

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 34

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs), and 17

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s. He was named the 2019 New Jersey High School Player of the Year by ''Perfect Game''. Volpe committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Yankees selected Volpe in the first round, with the 30th overall selection of the

. He signed on June 10, receiving a $2.7 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, and made his professional debut with the

Pulaski Yankees The Pulaski Yankees were a minor league baseball team based in Pulaski, Virginia, United States. They were an Advanced Rookie League team in the Appalachian League. The team played its home games at Calfee Park. They were affiliated with severa ...

of the Rookie Advanced

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

. 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. Beginning the 2021 season, Volpe was assigned to the

Tampa Tarpons The Tampa Tarpons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Tampa, Florida. The Tarpons play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is a ...

of the

Low-A Southeast The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. After slashing .302/.455/.623 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs in 54

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

, he was promoted to the

Hudson Valley Renegades The Hudson Valley Renegades are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fishkill, New York. The High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Renegades play in the South Atlantic League. The Renegades play their home games at Heritage Financial Pa ...

High-A East The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its hi ...

. 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 Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former professional baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tex ...

in 1996. The Yankees assigned Volpe to the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American professional Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League (EL), known as the Double-A Nort ...

of the Double-A Eastern League for the start of the 2022 season. On June 26, he hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning against the visiting

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain Ro ...

. 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, he represented the

at the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

. Volpe batted .252 with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs in 109 games for Somerset and was promoted to the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

on September 2.

Major leagues

2023

In 2023, the Yankees invited Volpe to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

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 Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster as the starting shortstop. He recorded his first major league hit in the second game of the season on April 1. On April 14, he hit his first major league home run. On May 10, 2023, he hit his first career

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

. He became the Yankees' first rookie shortstop to hit a grand slam. On May 13, he set a record as the first player in Yankees history to steal his first 13 career bases without being caught. On May 23, Volpe had his first walk-off plate appearance when he hit a sac fly to drive in the winning run against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. Volpe became the 15th MLB rookie to record both 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season. However, his .283

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

was the worst among qualified MLB players and his strikeout rate was 13th worst in the league. He finished his rookie season with a .209 batting average, .666 OPS, 21 home runs, 60 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, and 23 doubles. He received a single vote in

American League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

voting, finishing in eighth place. He won the AL

at shortstop, becoming the first Yankee rookie ever to receive the honor at any position and only the second rookie shortstop to win it, following

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

rookie

Jeremy Peña Jeremy Joan Peña (born September 22, 1997) is a Dominican Americans, Dominican-American professional baseball shortstop for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He attended the University of Maine and played college baseball for t ...

the previous season.

2024

Volpe worked to refine his offense in the offseason, leveling his swing to improve his bat control in the upper part of the zone. He quickly improved his offensive profile to start the 2024 season, cutting his strikeout rate in half while increasing his walk rate and on-base percentage through the first two months of play. On April 1, 2024, he recorded his first four-hit game. In May, he recorded a 21-game

hitting streak In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 pl ...

, the longest by a Yankees player in over a decade. The streak cemented his role as the team's regular lead-off hitter through the first half of the season. He was moved down in the lineup in July following a long offensive slump. He finished the regular season with a .243 batting average, .657 OPS, 12 home runs, 60 RBI, and 28 stolen bases. In his first postseason, Volpe recorded a .287 batting average and .815 OPS with five stolen bases. In Game 4 of the

2024 World Series The 2024 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2024 Major League Baseball season, 2024 season. The 120th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (b ...

, he hit a

, becoming the first player with four RBIs and two stolen bases in a World Series game.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volpe, Anthony 2001 births Living people American baseball players of Filipino descent American people of Italian descent Baseball players from Morris County, New Jersey Delbarton School alumni Hudson Valley Renegades players Major League Baseball shortstops New York Yankees players People from Watchung, New Jersey Pulaski Yankees players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Somerset Patriots players Baseball players from Somerset County, New Jersey Tampa Tarpons players 21st-century American sportsmen