George Lombard Jr. looks to be the shortstop of the future for the New York Yankees, and he sat down with legendary Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter in January.
The meeting was set up by a mutual friend in Miami, according to The Athletic's Brendan Kuty, and at the time, Lombard was still a prospect. However, everyone knew that he was destined to take over as the Yankees' shortstop soon. There is nobody better than Jeter to get advice from when it comes to being the star shortstop in The Bronx.
“The big one — and it seems pretty simple and probably one of the most important things — is to be a stand-up dude,” Lombard said Jeter told him, according to Kuty.
“Whether that’s in the clubhouse or with the media or the fans, whatever it is. Be authentic and be a good person. It goes a long way, doing those little things. Whether that’s always being upfront and honest or remembering people’s names. Just being an overall good human being. It keeps you grounded and keeps you humble and it allows you to keep doing the stuff on the field and producing on the field and helping out the team wherever you can, while keeping all the unnecessary distractions away.”
Jeter is a legend and is regarded as one of the best players in Yankees history. However, playing in New York is difficult, and Lombard is only 21 years old, trying to navigate it all in the middle of a season where the Yankees have World Series aspirations.
“I think the better questions — and the ones that are more valuable — are all the non-baseball (questions),” Lombard said of his meeting with Jeter. “How he approached dealing with New York. Dealing with everything that comes with it. The media. The off-the-field stuff. How, in his case, being the captain, dealing with all of those responsibilities. All of it. Just good conversation. Very insightful. Definitely someone that you can take a lot from having a short conversation.”
Lombard has made an impact right away for the Yankees. His offense has slowed down a bit since his debut, but he is proving he can be the future at shortstop for the team.