I have never seen a player more mentally broken than Anthony Volpe. And the craziest part about this whole mess? The Yankees are doing him a disservice by continuing to trot him out there every single night like nothing is wrong. This has to end. It’s over. We’ve reached the point where the numbers, the eye test, and the fan reaction all scream the same thing: Anthony Volpe cannot be the starting shortstop of the New York Yankees any longer. Anthony Volpe went 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts and no walks in today’s game against the Tigers.
Before Tonight’s Game: Boone Doubles Down on Volpe
Before the Yankees even took the field tonight, Aaron Boone was already setting himself up to be roasted. Asked about possibly starting Jose Caballero, Boone admitted he considered it, but then doubled down on his loyalty to Anthony Volpe. “Believe and hope that his best days are here for us down the stretch and into October,” Boone said with a straight face. Believe and hope. That’s what the New York Yankees are running on right now. Not production, not results — blind hope. Boone continues to sound like a man more interested in protecting Cashman’s pet project than in winning baseball games. It’s embarrassing, and tonight proved exactly why.
Another Bronx Beating: Yankees Get Crushed 12–2
Hours later, the Yankees went out and suffered one of their ugliest losses of the season, a 12–2 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. A game that was 2–2 heading into the seventh completely unraveled in historic fashion. Parker Meadows sparked a nine-run seventh inning with a go-ahead single after already homering earlier in the night. Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr. imploded in the bullpen, combining to allow four walks, four hits, and a hit batsman. Fourteen Tigers came to the plate in the inning. The first nine all reached base. Yankee Stadium was stunned, but honestly, nobody should be shocked at this point. This team collapses at the first sign of adversity.
And of course, Anthony Volpe found a way to put his fingerprints on the disaster. In the top of the seventh, Trey Sweeney hit a ball into shallow center. Volpe ranged back but couldn’t complete an over-the-shoulder catch. It wasn’t ruled an error, difficult situation I must admit. Instead, it set the stage for the Tigers to pile on, and pile on they did. Kerry Carpenter followed with a two-run triple to blow the game wide open, and Leiter’s wild pitch made it laughable. By the time the dust settled, it was 10–2, and the Yankees had completely unraveled once again with Volpe right in the middle of it.
Judge Makes History, But Nobody Cares
On any other night, Aaron Judge’s home run in the first inning would have been the headline. It was his 359th career homer, passing the legendary Yogi Berra for fifth place on the Yankees’ all-time list. Cody Bellinger also homered. But those milestones were completely overshadowed by the embarrassment that followed. When you lose by ten runs at home and your bullpen looks like a beer league softball squad, nobody cares about personal milestones. The boos drowned out any cheers.
Gleyber Torres Comes Back to the Bronx
To add insult to injury, former Yankee Gleyber Torres returned to Yankee Stadium as a Tiger and got a warm ovation along with a video tribute. He doubled in the first inning and later drew a bases-loaded walk in that seven-run nightmare frame. Let that sink in: a guy the Yankees let walk for nothing is now part of a division leader and came back to haunt them in their own house. The front office mismanagement isn’t just on display with Volpe. It’s everywhere you look.
The Numbers Do Not Lie
Volpe’s slash line tells the entire horror story: .206/.268/.393. Out of 25 qualified starting shortstops in baseball, he ranks:
24th in WAR (0.7)
24th in wRC+ (81)
25th in OBP (.268)
25th in batting average (.206)
25th in line drive percentage (14.7%)
He is, by the numbers, objectively one of the worst everyday players in Major League Baseball. And tonight’s popped-up bunt attempt in the fifth inning only added to the misery. With two on and nobody out, Volpe couldn’t even lay down a bunt, popping it straight up as fans booed mercilessly. Moments later, Ryan McMahon struck out and Trent Grisham flied out. Rally dead. That was the Yankees’ last gasp before Detroit’s avalanche hit two innings later.
I’ve never seen a player more mentally shot than Anthony Volpe.
You don’t need advanced stats to see what’s happening here. Volpe is mentally finished. He’s carrying himself like a guy who knows the fans don’t believe in him, and truthfully, he doesn’t believe in himself either. Every at-bat is a battle just to make contact. Every ground ball is an adventure. And yet, Boone insists on penciling him in, talking about “belief” and “hope.” Sorry, Aaron, but hope is not a strategy. Hope doesn’t fix a .206 average. Hope doesn’t erase 20 errors. Hope doesn’t turn boos into cheers. The only thing hope gets you is more nights like tonight — double-digit losses and a fed-up fanbase.
Fan Sentiment: Enough Is Enough
The Yankee fanbase has had it. Tonight, the boos were louder than Judge’s home run ovation. Social media torched Volpe all night long. The popped-up bunt trended. The missed play in shallow center trended. It’s become a nightly ritual at this point — Volpe messes up, fans let him hear it, Boone defends him, and the cycle repeats. Even the most optimistic fans are done defending him. Everyone knows what the problem is, but the Yankees refuse to acknowledge it. That’s why fans are furious. It’s the arrogance. The stubbornness. The refusal to admit reality.
The solution is simple: Anthony Volpe should not play another inning this season. Shut him down. Let Jose Caballero or literally anyone else take over at shortstop. Volpe needs a full reset — away from the bright lights, away from the Bronx, away from the nightly boos. The Yankees need to stop pretending this is working, because it’s not. Every night he plays, the hole gets deeper. Every night he plays, the fans get angrier. Every night he plays, the Yankees remind us that this front office cares more about saving face than winning games.
Is Volpe’s New Girlfriend A Distraction?
This is the part nobody wants to say out loud. Optics matter in New York. Anthony Volpe pulled up to Carlos Rodón’s foundation event with his date, Live your life.
Obviously she’s an attractive lady, but am I crazy for thinking she looks kinda old for Volpe https://t.co/0LmsPoqASC
Nobody is blaming a relationship for a slump. The results are on Volpe. If the Yankees want this talk to stop, there is only one answer. Produce. Make the plays. Get on base. Until that happens, the girlfriend storyline will hang over every strikeout and every misplay like a cloud.
The Bottom Line
Tonight’s 12–2 humiliation should be the final straw. Aaron Boone can talk all he wants about “hope,” but the only hope left is that this front office wakes up and does what’s right. Sit Anthony Volpe down. Stop embarrassing him, stop embarrassing yourselves, and stop embarrassing the fans. Enough is enough.
Felix Pantaleon is The Founder of NYYNEWS.com The First & Oldest Independent New York Yankees Content Creator Platform, Since 2005.Follow on Social Media
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