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NEW YORK — All eyes at Yankee Stadium were on Anthony Volpe a year ago. That’s what happens when a 21-year-old hometown kid breaks camp as the New York Yankees‘ starting shortstop. On Friday, one week into his sophomore season, he was a sidebar for the club’s home opener. Juan Soto, not Volpe, was the newcomer everybody wanted to see. Volpe operated in the background.

If all goes as planned following an offseason of adjustments, Volpe won’t operate there for long.

“I think we’re seeing just a more mature player,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ 3-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. “Not surprising considering his ability, his talent, work ethic and aptitude.”

The difference in Volpe at the plate from 2023 was immediately evident during spring training. It has already surfaced in different ways early this season, both in his production and in the batter’s box.

On Friday, for example, he got ahead 2-0 in his first plate appearance before stroking a single. He repeated the formula in his final at-bat in the ninth inning. Boone noted the difference over a week ago, during Volpe’s final plate appearance on Opening Day in Houston.

Volpe went down looking on five pitches against Josh Hader, the Astros’ all-world closer, to end the top of the ninth inning. Two of the strikes were borderline, at best. Volpe didn’t chase.

It’s not often that a batter striking out is notable, in a good way, for his manager. But Boone was impressed. A year ago, chances are Volpe would have swung at those balls off the plate. The sequence, Boone noted, represented Volpe’s improvement entering his second major league season.

“I think he looks like a way better hitter,” Boone said. “Period.”

Expectations were high when Volpe broke camp on the Yankees’ Opening Day roster last year. So was the pressure. In the end, the rookie campaign was, by most measures, a success. Volpe won a Gold Glove. He became the first rookie in Yankees history to record a 20-20 season. He played in 159 games — a notable feat for a club ravaged by injuries.

Still, his struggles making contact, magnified by the wave of injuries around him, were impossible to ignore. He batted just .209 — the third-lowest average among qualified major league hitters. His .283 on-base percentage was the second-lowest mark. He compiled a team-high 167 strikeouts.

So, Volpe went to work during the offseason.

“Simplifying a lot of stuff just helps you execute in different ways,” Volpe, now 22, said. “Luckily, we have a lot of really great guys who will help you with the approach so you’re putting yourself in good positions to execute your approach and be picky and be the type of hitter that fits in this lineup. That’s what I’m always trying to do.”

Simplifying stuff started with mechanical adjustments. Volpe’s swing is markedly “flatter” from last year. The goal: to have more coverage throughout the strike zone, particularly against high fastballs. Volpe batted .105 against high fastballs in 2023, second-to-last among qualified hitters, with an uphill swing path. Limiting movement in his upper body was another focus.

“Sometimes when he misses [the barrel],” Yankees hitting coach James Rowson said, “he still hits them hard and stays kind of through the middle.”

The modifications have produced a calmer presence at the plate, and promising numbers, a week into the season. Volpe is batting .409 with a home run and 1.182 OPS in six games. He has six strikeouts to four walks. He’s seen 4.58 pitches per plate appearance, good for first on the Yankees and 13th in the majors entering Friday.

Volpe’s behind-the-scenes efforts resonated with the Yankees’ homegrown franchise player.

“You’re seeing how, at such a young age, he’s able to evaluate his season last year,” Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge said during spring training. “He had the Gold Glove, the 20-20 season, but he was able to take a step back and really evaluate. ‘All right, I need to get better at this, this, and this.’ And then to implement that and work on that in the offseason and bring it to camp, it takes a lot.

“If I was his age, doing what he did, I don’t know if I’d be that real with myself and really sit down and be critical of the situation. That’s mature, way beyond his years.”

Volpe turns 23 later this month. For reference, Judge celebrated his 23rd birthday in Double-A. Two years later, Judge was named American League Rookie of the Year.

“I think everybody always wants to improve once they make some changes,” Judge said. “They want to improve and get better. I think he expects that. I think everybody expects that. I can’t speak for him, but I think he definitely is looking forward to 2024.”

For Volpe, it’s about putting himself in the best position to succeed. An offseason of work has improved his chances to do so, to inflict damage more consistently. On Friday, he returned to Yankee Stadium a slightly different hitter from a year ago, ready to continue making strides in front of his home crowd.

“I don’t play for the outside expectations or anything,” Volpe said. “So, regardless of what it is, I feel like I hold myself to a high standard, and I’m just going to work and prepare and live up to that.”

He’s on his way.

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Pimlico demolition, rebuild OK’d for after Preakness

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Pimlico demolition, rebuild OK'd for after Preakness

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland board approved a $14.3 million contract on Wednesday to begin the demolition and rebuilding of Baltimore’s storied but antiquated Pimlico Race Course, home to the second jewel of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes.

The vote by the three-member Board of Public Works, which includes Gov. Wes Moore, was made 10 days before the 150th Preakness Stakes, which is scheduled for May 17. It will be the last time the annual horse race will be held with the existing structures in place before the track is rebuilt on the same site. The demolition will begin shortly after this year’s race.

“There cannot be a better time to announce the beginning of a transformation that will allow Pimlico to become a year-round hub for economic activity within the Park Heights community,” Moore said of the Baltimore neighborhood and longtime home of the race.

Under the plan, the Preakness will take place in Laurel Park, located just southwest of Baltimore, in 2026 while the new facility is built, before returning to Pimlico in time for the 2027 race.

Craig Thompson, the chair of the Maryland Stadium Authority which is overseeing the design of the new track, said the plan is to make Pimlico the home of Maryland thoroughbred racing. The track will go from hosting about 15 races a year to well over 100, Thompson said.

“This is more than just about a racetrack, as historic and important as it is,” Thompson said. “This is about bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in state investments to Park Heights.”

Thompson also shared a preview of the design plans. They include a new clubhouse with architecture inspired by the Rawlings Conservatory in Baltimore’s Druid Hill park and the original Pimlico Clubhouse, which included a colonnade and rooftop balconies, Thompson said.

Last year, the board approved a deal to transfer ownership of Pimlico from The Stronach Group to the State of Maryland in order to ensure the Preakness remains in Baltimore.

The state has been wrestling with what to do to restore the old racetrack for decades. Aptly nicknamed Old Hilltop, the track opened in 1870. It’s where Man o’ War, Seabiscuit, Secretariat and many others pranced to the winner’s circle.

But its age has long been a concern. In 2019, the Maryland Jockey Club closed off nearly 7,000 grandstand seats, citing the “safety and security of all guests and employees.”

The horse racing industry and other equine industries have been a cornerstone of Maryland agriculture, as well as an integral part of preserving green space.

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Reds place 3B Marte on IL due to oblique injury

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Reds place 3B Marte on IL due to oblique injury

ATLANTA — The Cincinnati Reds placed third baseman Noelvi Marte on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain Wednesday.

Marte was scratched minutes before the first pitch of the Atlanta Braves‘ 2-1 win over the Reds in 10 innings Tuesday night. He was reported to have left side discomfort, and the oblique injury was disclosed Wednesday.

Marte is hitting .294 with three homers, 17 RBIs and four stolen bases.

The Reds placed another third baseman, Jeimer Candelario, on the injured list on April 30 with a lumbar spine strain. Santiago Espinal was the fill-in starter for Marte on Tuesday night.

The Reds recalled outfielder Rece Hinds from Triple-A Louisville before Wednesday night’s game against the Braves.

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Brewers’ Contreras playing with fractured finger

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Brewers' Contreras playing with fractured finger

Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras intends to continue playing through a fractured finger that the team believes he first suffered last season.

An X-ray revealed the fracture on his left middle finger, his catching hand, which had grown so painful the team ordered the scan.

Contreras plans to play with a splint on the finger while catching and hitting, according to MLB.com.

Coming off his second All-Star season, Contreras is batting .242 with three home runs and 19 RBIs in 35 games. Contreras hit .281 last year and .289 in 2023. The pain is worse when he’s batting, according to MLB.com.

Contreras, 27, was not in the lineup for Wednesday’s matinee against the Houston Astros, getting the day off after catching the previous two games of the series.

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