The Great Volpe Delusion

Look, I’m not here to throw dirt on a kid’s dream—but I am here to call out one of the most baffling experiments in Yankees history since we decided Kei Igawa was a good idea. Why on Earth is Anthony Volpe still our starting shortstop? I haven’t been this uncomfortable watching someone man the infield since Bobby Meacham was doing the cha-cha around second base in the ’80s. And folks, that was a dark time. But here we are. Again.

Last night? An error. A costly one. Another L handed to us, this time by the Toronto Blue Jays—whom, and let me be clear, we cannot afford to lose to. Division rivals. Must-win game. And Volpe boots it. Cue Aaron Boone with the latest chapter in the Volpe Apologist Press Conference Tour.

Boone admitted—begrudgingly—that Volpe has made “a few too many” errors this season. You think, Aaron? The kid now leads the American League in miscues at short. That’s not elite. That’s not “still making a lot of plays.” That’s a problem. A big, glaring, costly, standings-shifting problem.

Let’s look at the cold, hard, inconvenient facts:

• 2023: 17 errors in 1,346 2/3 innings.

• 2024: 16 errors

• 2025: Leads the AL with 12, and it’s only July.

But Boone continues to trot Volpe out there like this is some heartwarming Disney story. Spoiler alert: it’s not. The damage is done, and we’re losing ground in the AL East because the manager refuses to admit that the golden child can’t handle the position. This isn’t loyalty. This is mismanagement, plain and simple.

Boone claims Volpe is just “a few plays off.” Sorry, Aaron—those plays cost games. And last I checked, games are the whole point. You’re in love, just admit it.

Instead of making the hard decisions champions make, Boone’s out here gambling the season on a kid who should be learning second base with the Marlins, not trying to “figure it out” at shortstop in the Bronx. He’s backing Volpe like his job depends on it (it might), but the only people paying the price are the fans, the standings, and probably Aaron Judge’s sanity.

Even Carlos Rodón chimed in with the ever-faithful, “Hang with him, he’ll be better.” That’s not reassuring—that’s a concession. It’s baseball code for “Yeah, we know he sucks, but please stop booing.”

And don’t get me started on the Yankees front office. Brian Cashman, with all his spreadsheets and whispered analytics, still doesn’t seem to understand what this team needs to win. The trade deadline is around the corner, and instead of adding firepower, we’re clinging to false hope and failed experiments. I’m tired of the projected analytics that suggest that Volpe WILL get better. In the now, he sucks… and we need him now.

Do you know I haven’t been to a single game this year? And I won’t. Not with Boone’s word salads, not with Volpe fielding like he’s wearing oven mitts, and not with this once-proud franchise settling for mediocrity while telling us it’s all part of the plan.

And poor Aaron Judge. The face of the franchise, breaking records, carrying this team on his back—and for what? A wild card chase? A first-round exit? This isn’t what he signed up for, and it’s not what we, the fans, deserve either.

The Yankees are no longer serious about winning. Not really. If you need proof, just keep watching the Boone-Volpe lovefest unfold every night while the AL East slips away.

This isn’t just frustrating—it’s a tragedy. A baseball tragedy playing out in real time. And unless someone wakes up soon, we’ll be looking back at this era the way we look back at the Meacham days.

Fix it, Yankees. It’s delusional now.