Anthony Volpe has all the makings of a New York Yankees leadoff man.
Small. Scrappy. Speedy. An incredible Gold Glove at shortstop. And, unlike one of his Hall of Fame predecessors Derek Jeter, the numbers actually support him in the field.
Sure enough, such has been the mold for most traditional Yankee leadoff men. They have largely been smaller contact hitters with excellent speed and range at their respective positions. Second basemen Chuck Knoblauch and Bobby Richardson come to mind, as does former center fielder Mickey Rivers.
Granted, there are some differences. Rivers and Richardson did not have particularly strong on-base percentages (OBP) for their careers, something which would never fly today.