Jun 21, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe (11) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
MLB: Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees
(New York, NY) — Everybody loves chicken parmesan. Especially if you’re a Italian kid from New Jersey. Most definitely if your name is Anthony Volpe.
What does this have anything do with the Yankees rookie?
It was reported back on June 14 that Volpe and his minor league teammate Austin Wells identified an adjustment the rookie need to make to his batting stance, and the discussion happened while the two were having a chicken parmesan dinner.
“Kind of a little stuff with my stance and how I set up to hit,” Volpe said. “It was so small, but we both kind of noticed it and started talking about it. I think we both took a lot away from it.”
While it is usually a job reserved for MLB-level hitting coaches, it may have worked.
In 15 games since the infamous dinner Volpe is hitting .314 with six extra base hits, six walks and .929 OPS which has increased his batting average from .186 to .212.
Volpe leads the entire Yankees lineup in batting average, OPS and walk rate over that span.
While the numbers still leave a lot to be desired, it’s clear the chicken parmesan was all the rookie needed.
Manager Aaron Boone gave Volpe a vote of confidence during his difficult stretch on the Talkin’ Yanks podcast.
“What I’m seeing, in my opinion, is a guy that is still helping us win games,” Boone told the ‘Talkin’ Yanks’ podcast on Tuesday. “I’m confident [he] will continue to be in the middle of helping us to win games. As long as I continue to see that and continue to see him deal with the ups and downs the way you’d hope, I feel a lot of confidence with him still.”
While it’s encouraging to see Volpe find his stride, it’s rather concerning the Yankees coaching staff couldn’t identify the issue themselves.
But that’s a story for another day.
