Fifteen years after Anthony Volpe watched the Yankees parade with the World Series trophy, he saved their season and kept hope alive for another World Series win.
Volpe, a New York native whose family idolizes the pinstripes going back generations, turned on a knee-high slider and perhaps reshaped the World Series, too. His third-inning grand slam sparked the Yankees to an 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night that forced a Game 5.
“I think I pretty much blacked out when I saw it go over the fence,” Volpe said.
Those at Delbarton School in Morristown, Volpe’s old high school, were celebrating the event on Wednesday.
“He put shockwaves at Delbarton School with how he played last night,” says Bruce Shatel, Volpe’s former coach. “There's a buzz around school and it's all anyone is talking about today."
Volpe is in his second year with the Yankees. He singlehandedly put the team on his back during Game 4 – both offensively and defensively – something he used to do at Delbarton.
“When I think of Anthony Volpe, the first words that come to mind are humble, hardworking and leader,” says Shatel. “He’s a guy who loves baseball more than anybody I know.”
The Dodgers went into Tuesday’s game with a 3-0 lead.
Twenty-one of the previous 24 teams to take 3-0 Series leads went on to sweeps, all but the 1910 Philadelphia Athletics against the Chicago Cubs, the 1937 Yankees against the New York Giants and the 1970 Baltimore Orioles against the Cincinnati Reds. All three of those Series ended in five games.
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.
