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By Ben Watanabe
Contributing Sports Writer
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Oh, Anthony Volpe.
Hopes were so high for you. Your No. 11 jersey was supposed to replace Derek Jeter's No. 2 as the ubiquitous wardrobe item at Yankee Stadium. You were supposed to anchor the shortstop position for the New York Yankees for the next decade and beyond.
Now, you're getting side-eyes from teammates in Triple-A.
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Volpe, who has been returned to the minors in the midst of another dreadful season, suffered an ignominious lowlight on Wednesday when he burned both of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders' automated ball-strike challenges within the first six pitches of the game.
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Volpe was seen on video laughing after he lost the second challenge, prompting the announcer to observe that Volpe's teammates probably weren't in laughing moods.
"He's got a big smile on his face," the announcer said, as captured in a video posted to X by New York Post Sports. "I'm going to guess the other 27 guys on the team aren't real happy right now."
What can Volpe do but laugh? The fall from Hall of Fame heir apparent to striking out in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a baseball tragedy bordering on comedy. He went 2-for-4 in the game, raising his Triple-A average to .242, which is almost dead-even with his .240 batting average with the MLB club this season. At least he's consistent -- consistently underwhelming -- no matter the level.
Volpe signed as relatively lucrative $3.6 million contract last offseason to avoid arbitration, and isn't eligible for free agency until 2029. It remains to be seen how committed to him the Yankees remain if he continues to flounder -- and if hotshot shortstop prospect du jour George Lombard Jr. continues to impress.
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