NJ baseball: Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe at Delbarton youth camp
New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe came back to Delbarton School to host a youth baseball camp on Aug. 7, 2025.
MORRISTOWN — The chant started slowly, but grew louder as more than 300 young baseball players joined in,
“Vol-pe! Vol-pe!”
Seemingly embarrassed by all the attention, Anthony Volpe grinned from home plate. The New York Yankees shortstop spent much of his rare off day back at Brian E. Fleury Field, where he’d helped Delbarton win multiple Morris County Tournaments and the 2019 NJSIAA Non-Public A title.
Volpe, 24, hosted his own ProCamp on Thursday, with more than 360 attendees as young as age 6.
Story continues after photo gallery.
It was a safe space for Volpe, a respite from the criticism that has accompanied the Yankees’ slide in the standings this summer and the shortstop’s defensive struggles. At Delbarton, Volpe flashed his trademark smile, and was still an unquestioned hero to the dozens of kids who took the field with him.
They all had arrived as individual baseball players, but each was transformed into a mini-Volpe, in matching white T-shirts advertising the camp on their chests, and his No. 11 and last name – unlike the classic Yankees’ uniform style – on their backs.
Wearing a navy ProCamps T-shirt, which read “Roll Call! Volpe! Volpe! Volpe!” over an image of him hitting, Volpe bounced between the groups on Delbarton’s baseball and soccer fields, posing for photos and reminding the young players, “All you guys can be Yankees if you work hard enough at it.”
Volpe was joined by two other members of the Yankees’ extended family: 5-year-old Caden and 2-year-old Everett Cole, the sons of injured Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, likely the youngest participants at the Aug. 7 camp.
“I learned a bunch of stuff about hitting, catching fly balls, running and fielding,” said 9-year-old Maggie Kellett of Cranford, the only girl on her camp team. “The most fun thing was the two scrimmages we played. We won both.”
Jason Mongiovi, the general manager of the Black Horse Tavern & Pub in Mendham, kept a close eye on his 8-year-old son Nino as he moved through the different stations. A former Delbarton baseball player, Mongiovi now coaches the Hanover Hammers 8U travel team, kids just old enough to play competitive baseball.
Mongiovi recalled Volpe telling a story of how he fell in love with baseball when his own father, Dr. Michael Volpe, brought him to a similar camp.
“I wanted to give my son the same opportunity,” said Mongiovi, who grew up in Hanover Township. “It’s really cool to see my son play on the baseball field at Delbarton. … The baseball part is great, but I love seeing my kid talk to people he’s never met before.”
From Delbarton to the big leagues
Volpe joked with longtime Delbarton baseball coach Bruce Shatel about how early he’d had to wake up to be back on campus before the 10 a.m. camp began. The previous afternoon, Volpe hit an RBI single off Rangers starter and former Delbarton teammate Jack Leiter – against whom he’s batting .500. It was Volpe’s career-high 61st RBI, and he also scored a run in the Yankees’ 3-2 road victory on Aug. 6, which snapped a five-game slide.
Volpe had been the Yankees’ first-round draft pick as a Delbarton senior in 2019. Four years later, he became the 15th MLB rookie to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases – while earning a Gold Glove at shortstop.
“Last season, when they were able to play against each other, that was a real smile for me. To see it in person was even better,” said Shatel, who traveled to Arlington, Texas this week for the three-game series.
“To watch the both of them on that stage was a very special moment for me. I said to (Volpe), it’s remarkable what he’s done for himself. For all these kids to come out here for a three-hour camp, it’s impressive. To see how he handles himself, he’s a great baseball player, obviously, but a better person.”
Just like while at Delbarton, Volpe had a grin and a kind word for all the campers. He also made sure to thank all the parents, including his own.
“It’s pretty surreal, pretty special,” Volpe said, then offered advice to players who wanted to follow in his footsteps. “Keep working, keep having fun. It sounds crazy to say, but my story and my track, I think is the same as all these other guys here. I’m not the biggest, not the strongest, not the fastest. But I just love to play and have fun working hard and practicing. All these kids here can do the same thing.”