Yankees slugger an overnight folk hero
Luke Voit still can’t get used to people recognizing him in the city. The subway system remains terrifying to him. And the folks back home would never believe the price you have to pay for a good steak dinner in New York City.
But, man, it sure beats traveling in coach and having a roommate on the minor league circuit, living on White Castle burgers on the road, and wondering if the dream of being a major league ballplayer is nothing more than a delusionary fantasy.
A year ago, Voit was an unknown player stuck in Class AAA Memphis.
Today, he is the prince of New York, the savior of the Yankees’ franchise.
“Crazy, isn’t it?” Voit tells USA TODAY. “A year ago, I feel like nobody knew me at all. Now, all of a sudden, I’m blowing up, especially in New York where the whole world is kind of watching. If you do well in New York, everybody loves you. It’s pretty special.”
He’s been almost a one-man act playing in a group filled with raspy voices and broken-down instruments, with the Yankees placing a major league-leading 16 players on the injured list this season and a dozen still out.
Yet the Yankees were 19-14 entering Monday, two games behind the Rays in the American League East Division, while outscoring the opposition by 36 runs.
“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone says. “He’s been huge for us. He’s just a really good hitter who’s locked