KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the spring of 2023, the Yankees named Anthony Volpe to the Opening Day roster, even though he’d played just 22 games at the Triple-A level.
At the time, Aaron Boone noted Volpe’s “energy” and “an instinct that he has that’s evident.”
Over the course of his two seasons in The Bronx, Volpe has gone through his fair share of difficulty, but so far this October, he’s lived up to Boone’s billing.
Again in Wednesday night’s 3-2 win over Kansas City in Game 3 of the ALDS, which put the Yankees a win away from the ALCS, Volpe reached base three times and made a terrific diving catch on a Vinnie Pasquantino liner in the bottom of the eighth with the Yankees clinging to a one-run lead.
“It was weird,” Volpe said of the play. “I thought he hit harder and went to cover and get the cut at third, but I realized it was soft and went for it.”
Luke Weaver eventually escaped the inning without any damage.
“That would have been trouble right there,’’ Weaver said.
Volpe, who grew up dreaming of playing shortstop for the Yankees, simply called his first playoff experience “a lot of fun.”
“We’ve had a lot of off days,” Volpe said of what it’s been like in the playoffs. “I’m looking forward to all the games. I haven’t been able to step back.”
When he does, Wednesday will likely be a highlight. Not only did he lead off the top of the fifth with a single to center and score later in the inning, but he also walked twice later in the game.
His biggest impact on the win, though, came with one out in the bottom of the eighth.
After Tommy Kahnle opened the inning by striking out Michael Massey, Weaver entered and gave up a single to Bobby Witt Jr. through the left side of the infield.
Pasquantino followed with a soft liner up the middle. Volpe, shaded that way, made a diving catch behind second base.
If the ball went through to center, the Royals would have had runners on the corners with one out. Instead, Witt retreated to first, and though Weaver gave up another hit to Salvador Perez, he got out of the inning with the Yankees still ahead.
“It was sick,’’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. said.
“That’s why he’s our Gold Glove [winner],” Juan Soto said. “It’s incredible. He does it every day. It doesn’t matter how things are going for him, he’s always playing the defense we need.”