It’s no secret Anthony Volpe is having a substandard third major-league season. But his dad Michael has had enough of the naysayers.
Michael Volpe voiced an expletive-filled defense of the New York Yankees shortstop during the seventh inning of their 6-4 win Sunday over the rival New York Mets.
Despite the fact he is tied with catcher Austin Wells for second on the team in RBIs (48) — his current season RBI pace of 86 would set a career high — and his career-best OPS+ of 94, Anthony Volpe has struggled at the plate and uncharacteristically in the field.
Volpe is second on the team in strikeouts (90), and his .219 batting average is the worst of any Yankees player with at least 135 at-bats — and Volpe has missed just one of New York’s 90 games.
The 2023 Gold Glove Award winner also leads all qualifying American League shortstops in errors (11) and has the worst fielding percentage among AL players at that position (.963).
What Did Anthony Volpe’s Dad Say To Mets Fans?
Volpe is laboring at the plate, especially with runners in scoring position this season. According to FanGraphs, he ranks 241st among 289 MLB qualifiers in batting average with runners in scoring position (.196).
So when Volpe struck out again with men on first and second base and New York clinging to a narrow two-run lead, falling to 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position for the day and 0 for 4 in the series, both irate Yankees fans and troll-like Mets fans let the embattled shortstop hear it.
But Michael Volpe, who is from New Jersey and raised Anthony as a Yankees fan in the New York suburb of Warren, New Jersey, only took issue with the Mets supporters. His reaction, which was captured in a viral TikTok video, was loaded with vitriol.
“Bad mouthing my son,” Michael shouted at the Mets fan as the the Citi Field signature Sunday performance of “God Bless America” played in the background. “Fâk you. Fâk you. Fâk you. Bad mouthing my son you sc–bag. You fâking sc–bag.â
Anthony’s mom Isabelle tried to restrain her husband from reacting further, especially after the Mets fan’s retort of “your son is the best,” was dripping with sarcasm.
How Did Anthony Volpe Do Against The Mets?
Maybe Michael Volpe was simply frustrated with his son’s horrible series in Flushing and was taking it out on a rival fan.
Anthony went 1 for 11 in the three-game set, in which New York lost two of three against its crosstown rivals. In the Yankees’ first two losses, which extended their abysmal losing streak to six games, Volpe’s lone bright spot, a solo home run Saturday, was overshadowed by his hitting teammate Aaron Judge in the face with an errant warmup throw.
Though the Yankees and Mets split their six head-to-head games this season — they will not meet again in 2025 unless it is in a Subway Series — the Mets worked over Volpe especially well.
He slashed .130/.125/.304 with just two runs scored against the New York NL team and had more strikeouts (8) than total bases (7) in those games.
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