Anthony Volpe gets called out by Justin Verlander's brother for messing up 'routine' play vs Astros

New York Yankees v Houston Astros - Source: Getty
New York Yankees v Houston Astros - Source: Getty

Since making his debut in March 2023, New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe has come under fire from fans for his inconsistency at the plate. As of now, Volpe is hitting .209, with 19 home runs and 70 RBIs.

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Though hitting has been a part of his game that has left much to be desired, his defense has usually been excellent, and he also won a Gold Glove in his debut season. However, even his defensive ability has seemingly fallen off a cliff this year, as Volpe currently leads the league for errors.

As the Yankees took on AL West leaders the Houston Astros on Wednesday, Volpe made his latest defensive mistake. With Jeremy Pena on first base and no outs, Carlos Correa lined a ball directly to Volpe at short, which looked to be a tailor-made double play ball. However, Volpe fumbled his scoop, and was only able to get the force-out at second base as a result.

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Soon after, analyst Ben Verlander, who is also the brother of future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, took to X to call out Anthony Volpe's blunder.

"This is about as routine a double play ball you can possibly get…" Verlander posted
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Luckily for Volpe and the Yankees, the mistake did not prove to be costly, and starter Max Fried was able to get out of the inning unscathed. The Yankees went on to win comfortably on the night, beating the Astros 7-1.


Yankees skipper Aaron Boone keeps his faith in Anthony Volpe despite recent struggles

With Anthony Volpe continuing to struggle both at the plate and in defense, fans' calls for skipper Aaron Boone to bench him have continued to get louder with every poor showing. However, speaking to the press ahead in late August, Boone maintained that he still sees Volpe as his first-choice shortstop.

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"I view Anthony as our shortstop. He’s shown all the signs that he can be a really good offensive player," Boone said. "A little more consistency is that next wave and that’s what he’s working really hard to do, I’m confident he’ll be able to get there."
Baltimore Orioles v New York Yankees - Source: Getty
Baltimore Orioles v New York Yankees - Source: Getty

Still in the race for the AL East title and with the playoffs to come in October, fans will be hoping Anthony Volpe can improve his performances and repay his manager's trust in him with his displays on the field.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash
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