Yankees' Anthony Volpe receives special congratulatory message

Volpe, who will presumably be the team's starting shortstop on Opening Day on Thursday against the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium, was born in Watchung, N.J. and grew up as a big Yankees fan. With his 22nd birthday coming up in late April, the 2019 first-round pick wasn't born yet during Jeter's early MLB days, but would've been in elementary school when "The Captain" led New York to their most recent World Series title in 2009.

Jeter retired following the 2014 season and was a near-unanimous first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, getting voted in on 396 of the 397 ballots in 2020. Since the 14-time All-Star and five-time champion hung up the cleats, the Yankees have seen a steady flow of primary starting shortstops over the last eight seasons, with Didi Gregorius having the longest run from 2015-19.

Now, the iconic sports organization is optimistic that Volpe can be the next franchise shortstop and help reigning MVP Aaron Judge to finally leading the team back to the Fall Classic for the first time in 14 years.

Regardless of how Volpe performs this season, he'll likely be joining an exclusive club of Yankees in approximately 24 hours. It was reported last week that only three players in team history have made their MLB debuts on Opening Day at 21 years old or younger -- 19-year-old Mickey Mantle in 1951, 21-year-old Ben Chapman in 1930 and 21-year-old Frankie Crosetti in 1932.

Jeter (at 21 years and 281 days old) was the last Yankees player as young as Volpe to start on Opening Day, as the New Jersey native will be 21 years and 336 days old on Thursday.