If you decide to make a commitment and hire an employee with less experience but great potential, there is work to be done. As Forbes points out, “Mentors can provide a valuable sense of connection and support for individuals early in their careers, while also helping develop soft skills such as effective communication, decision-making, and collaboration,” says Valencia Brown, Manager of Global Talent Enablement at Skillsoft." With this said, despite his lower batting average, Anthony Volpe has tremendous potential and opportunity to be great. And the mentoring has only just begun. So, stop your yapping, Volpe is not going down.
Hal Steinbrenner confirmed the Yankees commitment in the young shortstop before Tuesday night's game against the cross rival Mets. "I think defensively he’s been pretty solid. Pitchers have adjusted to him now. He’s going to have some adjustments to make himself. I don’t think any of this is out of the ordinary. I told Anthony at the end of spring training, ‘You are the starting shortstop of the New York Yankees. This isn’t a three-week trial.’ So [he’s] going to be that, through the ups and downs,” said Steinbrenner according to The New York Post.
Entering Tuesday night's battle at Citi Field, the 22-year-old was batting .186 with nine home runs and a .605 OPS in 67 games. He continues to battle strikeouts, but he brings tremendous speed to the bases, agility in the field and the world is at his feet. As I type these words, Volpe cranked a double down the third base line to bring the Yankees back into the game against the Mets. He later scored and helped the Yankees take the lead and knock the Mets' Max Scherzer out of the game.
“When we made the decision to go with Anthony at the start of the season, it wasn’t that we thought he was just going to light the world on fire right away. We expected that there’d be some ups and downs. But one of the things we’re betting on is the person, too, knowing he’d be able to handle some of the inevitable adversity," said Aaron Boone according to The Post. I would love it our skipper would step up and model some better behavior for our young star. Throwing temper tantrums and getting thrown out of games isn't doing it.
“There is no greater feeling of accomplishment than helping others recognize their potential and see their worth by sharing my experiences to provide a greater perspective on how to get where they desire to go," said Brown according to Forbes.
If the big bats and veterans were in the lineup right now, the magnifying glass would not be so clearly fixated on the young Volpe. And honestly, I think the spark and speed he brings is worth taking a chance on the rookie. The bat discipline and consistency at the plate will come. It just takes time, and commitment, both of which will come and I applaud the Yankee leadership for standing behind Volpe.
So in the words of the ever popular Taylor Swift, "Players gonna play, play, play, play, play And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate (haters gonna hate) Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake I shake it off, I shake it off." And those naysayers who base their judgment on a player who has played less than 67-games in his first big league season, chill out. Volpe is here to stay. And the Yankees leadership is backing him.
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--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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