March 30, 2023. Yankee Stadium. A 21-year-old from Watchung, New Jersey, jogged out to shortstop for the New York Yankees on Opening Day, and the Bleacher Creatures were already chanting his name before he took a single pitch. Anthony Volpe didn't just win a roster spot that spring. He won the same job Derek Jeter made his own for two decades -- and he was the first player the Yankees drafted and developed themselves to pull it off since Jeter did it in 1996.
That's not a small distinction. Didi Gregorius came over in a trade. Gleyber Torres came over in a trade (for Aroldis Chapman, of all things). Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who Volpe beat out that spring alongside Oswald Peraza, came over in a trade too. Volpe was a Yankees draft pick, 30th overall in 2019, out of Delbarton School -- 30 miles from the Bronx he grew up idolizing. He was the kid with Jeter posters on his bedroom wall, and now he had Jeter's job.
Roll Call, Realized
Volpe went 0-for-2 that afternoon, which is a strange way to open a story about a dream coming true. But the box score undersells it. He drew a full-count walk leading off the third inning, stole second off Logan Webb, and made a couple of sharp defensive plays that made the whole thing look less like a debut and more like he belonged.
Then Roll Call happened. First one of his career. Volpe turned toward the right-field bleachers, raised his glove, and lifted the interlocking NY on his chest to his lips. (Somewhere, a Little League version of Volpe was watching this exact scene happen to somebody else on TV a decade earlier. Now it was him.)
"It was probably the most fun day in my entire life," Volpe said afterward. "I probably had goosebumps the whole day."
He Wasn't Even the Best Story That Day
Here's the thing about Volpe's debut -- it happened inside one of the more loaded Opening Days in recent Yankees memory, and he still got the headline. Gerrit Cole struck out 11 over six shutout innings, breaking a 32-year-old franchise Opening Day record (Tim Leary had 9, back in 1991) -- a warmup act for the Cy Young season Cole would turn in that October. Aaron Judge, in his first game as captain, hit the first home run of the entire 2023 season in his first at-bat. Gleyber Torres added a two-run shot. Final score: Yankees 5, Giants 0.
Derek Jeter had already weighed in the day before, on Twitter: "Congratulations Anthony Volpe. There's nothing like playing shortstop for the New York Yankees." Coming from anybody else, that's a nice gesture. Coming from the guy whose poster was on Volpe's wall, it's the whole story in one sentence.
What the Job Actually Meant
The Yankees hadn't had a shortstop they drafted and raised themselves start on Opening Day since Jeter first arrived and took the job for good at 21 in 1996. Twenty-seven years is a long time to wait on a position that used to define the franchise. Gregorius was good. Torres was talented and defensively erratic enough to get moved off the position entirely (to second base, where he settled in just fine). None of them were the answer to "who's next" in the way the Yankees actually meant it -- their own guy, at short, on Opening Day.
Volpe went on to hit .209 with 21 home runs and 24 stolen bases across 159 games that 2023 season, which is its own conversation (the glove was never the question -- he won the AL Gold Glove that November, the first Yankees rookie ever to do it). But none of that happens without March 30. That's the day the succession question finally had an answer with his own last name on it.
| Debut Date | March 30, 2023 (Opening Day) |
| Opponent | San Francisco Giants |
| Location | Yankee Stadium |
| Debut Line | 0-for-2, 1 BB, 1 SB, 2 defensive plays |
| Game Result | Yankees win, 5-0 |
| Age at Debut | 21 years old |
| Drafted | 30th overall, 2019, out of Delbarton School (NJ) |
| Signing Bonus | $2,740,300 |
Drafted 30th Overall
The Yankees selected the New Jersey high schooler out of Delbarton School, passing up his Vanderbilt commitment with a $2,740,300 signing bonus, above slot value.
Wins the Job in Spring Training
Volpe hits .309 (17-for-55) with 3 HR and 5 SB in camp, beating out both Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Oswald Peraza for the starting shortstop role.
Named to the Opening Day Roster
The Yankees officially announce Volpe made the club. Derek Jeter congratulates him publicly the following day.
MLB Debut on Opening Day
Volpe starts at shortstop against the Giants, goes 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base, and kisses the interlocking NY during his first career Roll Call. Yankees win 5-0.
Wins AL Gold Glove
Volpe closes his rookie year by becoming the first Yankees rookie in franchise history to win a Gold Glove.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Anthony Volpe make his MLB debut?
Volpe debuted on March 30, 2023 -- Opening Day -- starting at shortstop for the Yankees against the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium. He was 21 years old.
Who did Anthony Volpe beat out for the Yankees' shortstop job?
Volpe won the starting job in spring training 2023 over both Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Oswald Peraza, hitting .309 with 3 home runs and 5 stolen bases in camp.
Was Anthony Volpe the first homegrown Yankees shortstop since Derek Jeter?
He was the first shortstop the Yankees themselves drafted and developed to win the Opening Day job since Jeter in 1996. Didi Gregorius, Gleyber Torres, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa -- the three shortstops between them -- all arrived via trade.
What happened in Anthony Volpe's first MLB game?
Volpe went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base, and made two sharp defensive plays. The Yankees beat the Giants 5-0, with Gerrit Cole striking out a franchise-record 11 batters and Aaron Judge homering in his first at-bat as team captain.