A photo of a young Anthony Volpe at the New York Yankees' 2009 World Series parade went viral this week as the shortstop and his teammates prepared to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the upcoming Fall Classic, which gets underway at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.
During the latest edition of the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast, Volpe offered a bold prediction of what could happen in the "Canyon of Heroes" if the Yankees topple the Dodgers in this year's World Series.
"I feel like if we win, it’ll be crazier than what I remember," Volpe said about the 2009 celebration compared to what could occur as soon as next week, as Audacy's Ryan Chichester shared.
A New York native, Volpe famously grew up a fan of the Bronx Bombers who idolized Yankees legend Derek Jeter. Volpe has endured many ups and downs since winning the starting shortstop job in March 2023, and the 23-year-old slashed .310/.459/.345 over his first nine playoff games.
On Thursday, MLB's Mike Petriello explained how certain statistics suggest Volpe could emerge "as a potentially important X-factor" during the World Series.
As for Volpe's "crazier than what I remember" prediction, he may be proven right. After all, the Yankees last appeared in a World Series when they won the 2009 Fall Classic.
The country's biggest baseball market has been waiting a long time to enjoy a massive celebratory moment.
While the New York Mets completed a journey to the 2015 World Series, they ultimately lost in five games to the Kansas City Royals.
As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Yankees as +105 betting underdogs to win the World Series over a Dodgers side that ended the regular season atop the overall MLB standings. Volpe is doing everything possible to tune out such noise and focus on the task at hand rather than on the fact that he could soon accomplish a goal he had as an eight-year-old Yankees fan.
"It’s definitely surreal," Volpe added during the interview. "But when I look back and what you dream of as a kid, it’s to win the World Series. Not just to be here playing. So there’s a lot of work to do."
