New York Yankees legend C.C. Sabathia offered support for struggling shortstop Anthony Volpe in an interview with Erich Richter for the New York Post. Sabathia, who works as a special assistant for the Yankees, was asked about Volpe’s struggles, to which he said “You know what? I think it’s like people need to relax.”
Volpe leads the American League in errors with 18 on the season. He hasn’t been much better in the batters box either, as he’s barely hitting above the Mendoza line at .207 through 140 games played this season.
At only 24-years-old, there’s still plenty of time for the former first-round pick to find his footing in New York, but his struggles have been a huge reason for the Yankees inconsistency in the last couple of months.
Sabathia expanded on his thoughts about Volpe.
“It’s hard to develop young talent here,” Sabathia said. “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… If we were able to … like if … as a fan base, as a city, let let these kids go through whatever they’re going to go through. The game’s hard to play, man. It’s very difficult.”
“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.”
A Brutal Season for Volpe
Yankees fans have not made the path for success easy for Volpe. He’s been booed off the field after striking out or making an error a number of times, and even when he’s playing well, Yankees fans seem unwilling to show him support because of how poorly he’s played.
A change of scenery would probably be beneficial for the shortstop, but the Yankees have opted to keep him around all season instead of trading or demoting him. Volpe is on a one-year contract in pre-arbitration. He won’t be an unrestricted free agent until 2029.
Yankees Battling to Stay Alive in AL East Race
New York is just three games back of Toronto for the AL East race and with their series tied at one, they can get as close as two games after this weekend. A series win over Houston and now some wins over Toronto have done a couple of things for the Yankees: It’s instilled a sense of confidence that after a poor summer, they’re beginning to play good baseball again at the right time of year.
Their recent success has also given them plenty of breathing room in the Wild Card Standings, now a game and a half up on Boston and five games up on Seattle. Boston’s recent struggles are a good sign as they seem to have come back down to earth after a scorching summer, right in time for the Yankees to catch them shorthanded when they head to Boston next weekend.
Yankees Legend Defends Anthony Volpe: ‘People Need to Relax’