Anthony Volpe's comments on struggles show he's been brainwashed by Yankees

Whether you value WAR or not, watching Anthony Volpe this year has been a drag for almost every New York Yankees fan. His defense has taken a step back while his offense has remained middling at best. Even the analytics crowd has to agree because his Baseball Savant page is disgusting.

Perhaps worse is the reality that just about nobody on the Yankees admits fault when the team is playing poorly. For years, they have very rarely accepted responsibility for anything, from the top down. They attribute heinous individual slumps and overall losing streaks to "that's just how the game goes."

Poor fundamentals? Ignored. Struggles with runners in scoring position? "Baseball is hard." Players not stepping up? "We're all in a tough spot." The Yankees have never been wrong and their players have never been bad. Just ask Brian Cashman, who went nuclear on reporters two years ago for criticizing Volpe absolutely cratering during his rookie season.

Speaking of, the Yankees PR machine has gotten a hold of Volpe, who was asked about the various issues he's endured in 2025. And again, it seems like there's absolutely zero concern or urgency — just how the team likes it.

“Listen,” he said, via The Athletic, “I mean, I know it might sound crazy, but I feel good. We’re obviously working on stuff. Just getting into a place I feel like I need to be. But I’m confident we’re getting toward that.

“I answer this question with respect and everything like that, but I feel like I’m really confident every time I step up to the plate. That’s what makes it frustrating at the same time. It’s just the balancing act.”

Anthony Volpe's Yankees comments provide no hope

We, of course, try to speak on this respectfully, but as the situation craters over and over again, it's hard not to sound flippant. Volpe leads all AL shortstops with 11 errors. He had a solid April and has been getting progressively worse ever since. He's batting .196 with runners in scoring position. He hit Aaron Judge in the face with a baseball. Very little has been going right for him since the start of May.

It's reasonable for players to be confident in themselves, but we're trying to figure out how Volpe is "feeling good" if his defensive instincts are completely off and his bat is almost never coming through at opportune times. He has a .695 OPS and 94 OPS+. He's in the 17th percentile for expected batting average. He's supposed to be a stolen base threat and has swiped only 10 bags on the year. He's left the most runners on base in the entire league. He has decidedly not been good. For a majority of the season, he's been all-around bad.

We don't blame him for trying to keep a positive outlook. We don't blame his dad for flipping out on a fan at Citi Field. But we do blame the callous disregard for refusing to accept reality. And, much like his development, Volpe isn't the main scapegoat. It's the Yankees who are at fault here because of the environment they used to influence him.