“Turned Into Prime Jeter”: Anthony Volpe Masterclass Against Blue Jays Draws Parallels to Yankees Great Derek Jeter

Anthony Volpe is a name that has risen to light in recent times. The 22-year-old shortstop who is currently in his 2nd year of Major League Baseball, has shown quite some turnarounds. Contrary to his dimming performance in his first year, the 2024 season has seen him skyrocketing. Just look at his performance against the Toronto Blue Jays! 

Well, the Blue Jays were witness to some “eye-catching” performance by Volpe. This happened when the prodigy wore his magical gloves and made a spectacular play. In the end, the Yankees ended the game with a 6-4 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday. Fans went bonkers and drew parallels with the Yankees legend. 

Anthony Volpe’s incredible gold-glove performance reminds fans of Derek Jeter

Which legend, you may wonder. Well, that’s Captain Derek Jeter. The New York Yankees official Instagram page shared a post on Instagram highlighting Anthony Volpe’s incredible play. They captioned it, “The Gold Glover,” indicating an impressive glove performance. And this is exactly what fans had to see to make “prime jeter” references.  

Volpe ranged up the middle to make a sliding stop on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s hard ground ball. He then fired it to first for the final out of the game. Observing his performance, catcher Jose Trevino said, “He’s a Gold Glover for a reason. That was a hard-hit ball. Going to his left to make that kind of play, it was a really good play.”

Aaron Judge too commented on this iconic sliding stop as he had a good view from the center field. His words were, “That was impressive. Right when he hit it, I’m thinking it’s probably coming to me, just get the ball in. He makes an incredible snag. I gotta stop doubting him with those plays. He’s been doing it all last year and to start this year. It was a pretty impressive way to end the game right there.” 

What fans said about Volpe’s play

Adding to the sentiments of Captain Judge, the Yankees fans immediately flooded social media with their high praises. And what stood out was the comparison to legendary Derek Jeter. One fan commented on the Instagram post, referring to “prime jeter,”
“Volpe turned into prime jeter for a game 😮‍💨😮‍💨” 

There were other comments which subtly hinted at Jeter saying that such a play is not new. “It feels and looks familiar. What a play! Another fan joined the bandwagon and commented “crazy,” – “Nah that’s crazy work to say 😭😭😭” One of the fans also drew focus to a clutch play, saying: “Very tough play and he still fielded it perfectly and threw an accurate throw. Clutch play !!”

There is no doubt that Volpe has been displaying great performances in recent times. However, this play against the Blue Jays had many heads turning. It becomes increasingly clear that it’s only a matter of time before Volpe unleashes his full potential and goes on to become one of the greatest shortstops ever known.