Why My Feelings Toward Bellinger Compared To Volpe Are Quite Different

Let’s take a moment to tip our caps to the Yankees’ front office for a move that might just end up being one of their sneakiest wins in my opinion: bringing in Cody Bellinger to replace Juan Soto. Yep, you heard me. I know Yankee Twitter is in mourning over Soto’s absence (this is sarcasm), but with Bellinger heating up and Trent Grisham suddenly channeling his inner Bernie Williams, I’m not exactly clutching my pearls over Juan’s departure. Grisham has been so surprisingly solid that I almost forgot Soto ever existed — almost.

Now, about Bellinger — sure, he had a bumpy rollout. He came in swinging and, well, missing a bit. Through 21 games, he’s batting .173 with two homers and 12 RBIs. Not exactly murderers’ row stuff. And yeah, Aaron Boone called his early results “disjointed,” which sounds more like a jazz album than a baseball critique. But it’s crazy, I agree with Boone. Bellinger had a rough first road trip — his back flared up, and then food poisoning kicked him while he was down. The guy was basically cursed by the baseball gods and his lunch.

But here’s the thing: I can’t even get mad at him. And no, I’m not playing favorites. I just know what we signed up for — a streaky, electric bat with MVP potential. Bellinger isn’t pretending to be the next great Yankee legend; he’s just here to hit bombs, play stellar defense, and occasionally get food poisoning.

Meanwhile, Anthony Volpe… Look, I want the kid to succeed — I do. But let’s not rewrite reality. The Yankees and their PR machine hyped this kid like he was Derek Jeter 2.0, and I’m sorry, but the pinstripes don’t magically turn everyone into a Hall of Famer. Volpe was rushed. He was marketed. He was not ready. And it shows — not just in the numbers, but in the way he plays. There have been flashes, but flashes aren’t leadership. They aren’t consistency. They aren’t Jeter.

That’s why I go easy on Bellinger and not on Volpe. It’s not personal — it’s about expectations. Bellinger, we knew, was a wild card who could get white-hot. And wouldn’t you know it, the fire might just be starting. In Tuesday’s 15-3 annihilation of the Orioles, Belli went 2-for-4 with a walk-off bat flip of a night: a solo homer in the first inning and a two-run double later that brought Judge and Rice home. Over his last six games? He’s 7-for-22 with six walks, four runs, a homer, and four RBIs. That’s a guy trending in the right direction.

Look, I want them both to succeed — the Yankees need all the help they can get if we’re serious about No. 28. But let’s be brutally honest here: we’re not hoisting a trophy with Aaron Boone drawing up the lineup with crayons, so the offense better do all the heavy lifting.

So if you’re wondering why I’m in Bellinger’s corner and not buying more Volpe stock — it’s not bias. It’s common sense. 

One came with realistic expectations and upside. The other came with billboards and a crown he hadn’t earned yet. And the sad thing is, a lot of fans see it. I’m just one of the few with the guts to say it out loud.

I just had to get this off my chest, cause some of you are giving me shit, but there it is, I spelled it out.