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His idol was never a threat to hit a baseball out of Yankee Stadium, of course. But Anthony Volpe, bless his pinstriped heart, knows the monumental history of the franchise, knows how and why the New York Yankees are the Bronx Bombers, all these years after The Sultan of Swat.
And on a chilly, windy Sunday at the Stadium, The Kid who grew up wanting to be Derek Jeter was a wide-eyed eyewitness to Giancarlo Stanton’s Ruthian 485-foot center field blast that no one, including teammates who watched Aaron Judge’s historic 62-home run 2022, could believe.
“That was by far the furthest ball I’ve ever seen hit in my life,” Volpe told The Post after the Yankees’ 6-0 win over the Giants. “I don’t know how they said it didn’t go over 500 feet but … just fun to watch all around.”
The home run, the third farthest at the Stadium behind a pair of Judge bombs in 2017, left the bat at 117.8 mph with a 25-degree launch angle, per Statcast. It landed over the center-field batter’s eye just beneath the scoreboard. It was Stanton’s second longest home run of the Statcast era.
Asked what it feels like to hit a ball that far, Stanton said, “It’s pretty cool. … Everything’s synched up, timing and striking on point, and let’s let it go.”
The reaction in the Yankees’ dugout was shock and awe.
Volpe: “Excitement, and then I think shock with where it landed. I don’t think anyone thought you could hit a ball where it landed.”
DJ LeMahieu: “Disbelief. We all knew it was a for sure homer. But where it landed, I don’t think any of us has seen a ball hit land there.”
Stanton’s two-run moonshot off Ross Stripling extended a 1-0 lead following a 382-foot Judge home run earlier in the third inning. Kyle Higashioka mashed a solo homer in the fourth inning. The Yankees are 29-2 when Judge and Stanton homer in the same game.
“It means we gotta keep doing it,” Stanton said.
Nestor Cortes was watching on a clubhouse TV when Stanton launched it.
“I think that’s the furthest home run I’ve ever seen hit live,” Cortes told The Post. “Obviously I was a huge Marlins fan growing up, and watched him play in Marlins Park. But this is definitely one of the most incredible ones I’ve seen.”
Michael King was in the bullpen.
“The only view I had was the screen that we had in the bullpen. … I don’t think I’ve ever seen a ball get to the fans above the batter’s eye,” King told The Post. “That was incredible. Even in batting practice, I don’t think I’ve seen a ball get up there.
“Everyone in the bullpen was shocked.”
King referred to Stanton and Judge and added: “Unless it’s from one of them two, I don’t think I’m ever gonna see a ball hit that far ever in my life.”
Back in the dugout, Aaron Boone wasn’t sure that he ever had seen a ball hit to where Stanton hit it.
“G’s weird,” Boone said, and smiled. “Every time he comes in after one of those I just tell him, ‘You’re weird. You’re different.’ He hit it and I knew it was going over the batter’s eye right away. … I feel like we’ve had one go up there at some point over the last several years, but I don’t know.”
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who looked at ease in his center-field debut behind effective starter Jhony Brito, was also in the dugout when Stanton went Bambino.
“Everybody was kinda just in shock, and just looking at each other and just like, ‘What’s going on?’ ” IKF told The Post. “It was a crazy feeling.”
Higashioka: “We we’re in the dugout just scratching our heads a little bit because it went so far. … He’s definitely one of one in terms of putting the hurt on a baseball.”
Stanton clearly enjoyed his muscle beach party moment, but doesn’t mind the Yogi Berra first-row version.
“As long as it goes over the fence,” he said, “that’s cool with me.”
Volpe didn’t get to witness any of Judge’s home runs last season, but he was in the dugout when Mr. All Rise himself lined his second of the season into the left-field seats.
“At first I was kinda surprised how close it was to not going out,” Volpe said, “ ’cause it was smoked. But it was great to see.”
In the seventh, Volpe walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch by reliever Sean Hjelle, led a double steal and scored on an Anthony Rizzo sacrifice fly. But this wasn’t a day for everyone to be gushing about him. This was Giancarlo’s Stanton’s day.
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