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“Exactly What We All Thought He Would Be”- Esteemed New York Yankees Instructor Identifies Derek Jeter’s “It” Factor in Latest Prospect

Published 03/04/2023, 8:30 AM EST

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Inspiring a generation of players with his unwavering professionalism, Hall of Famer Derek Jeter is indeed one of the best ever to dominate on the diamond. Failures came and went, but they could not sway Jeter from his goal of succeeding in the game he had always dreamed of playing. Needless to say, almost everything that Captain Clutch did in the ballpark was one of a kind. When Jeter retired from the game, fans always wondered whether they will get to see someone as good as their favorite shortstop in the ballparks.

Little did people know that after over five years of Mr. November saying goodbye to the game, a young star would appear, similar to Jeter. In 2019, the 30th overall pick, Anthony Volpe, was drafted by Major League Baseball straight out of high school. Ever since that moment, he has been drawing comparisons of the epitome of success that Jeter was on the field. 

Is a new Derek Jeter in the pipeline?

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In some ways, many would find it hard to believe that a player who is MLB’s 30th overall draft would live up to the expectations set by the legendary Derek Jeter. Some would even find it impossible. But the twenty-one-year-old, Anthony Volpe, has defied them all by showing his immense talents in the spring training. 

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While talking about the young prospect, the Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson said, “He’s exactly what we all thought he would be.” However, Lawson’s not the only one thinking Volpe is showing comparisons to Captain Clutch. According to the special instructor, Willie Randolph, Volpe is showing signs of Derek Jeter as well as Don Mattingly.

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After looking at Volpe launching his first home run in spring training against the Pirates, Randolph said, “Some of those guys have ‘it.’ You can see ‘it’ sometimes. I see a little bit of ‘it’ in [Volpe] as far as his total focus.”

Whether Volpe will become the next Jeter or Mattingly, or even if he’ll play as the opening-day shortstop, is still uncertain. But that doesn’t stop executives from thinking the next Derek Jeter is already in the works. 

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Watch this Story: Every New York Yankees record broken by MLB icon Derek Jeter

Do you think Anthony Volpe will work out as the next Derek Jeter or not? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Rakshita Madan

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Rakshita Madan is an MLB author at EssentiallySports. She is an engineering graduate and is currently pursuing her MBA from NMIMS, Mumbai. Rakshita has experience in writing for more than four years now, with one of her writings even getting published in an anthology.
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Edited by:

Abhishek Kumar