George Lombard Jr. gives the Yankees everything theyd been missing in dazzling debut
The Yankees have not referred to George Lombard Jr.as a savior of their season.
The words “Derek Jeter” have yet to come out of Aaron Boone’s mouth when asked for comparison.The vision that the club’s manager laid out Tuesday, shortly after promoting the young shortstop, was for Lombard to “get settled here as seamlessly as possible and hopefully go out there and help us win ballgames.”And then Lombard authored the kind of debut that ensured the nearly impossible expectations, at least externally, will only grow.
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.In his first major league game, Lombard looked like the kind of immediate upgrade — with the bat and glove — who allows the Yankees and their fans to fantasize they have found their World Series shortstop for the present and the future.The 21-year-old top prospect homered in his second big league at-bat, put on a show defensively and immediately displayed why he was untouchable at this and every trade deadline since joining the organization, contributing plenty to a 2-0 Yankees victory over the Cardinals.There were 41,081 in The Bronx who watched a sweet swing and several slick defensive plays from Lombard.
But if this game truly marks the start of a new Yankees era, there will be millions more who claim they witnessed the rise of Lombard firsthand.Of course, for the dangers of proclaiming Lombard as the true heir to Jeter, you just have to look at the last shortstop proclaimed as both the present and the future, who was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with the corresponding move.A 2019 first-round pick, Anthony Volpe was the darling of the organization and the fan base until he was not.
In his fourth big-league season, Volpe will have to prove himself in the minors to even make the case he can be a part-time player in The Bronx.There are no guarantees, but the 2023 first-round pick waste...