Access the Yankees beat like never before

Don’t miss Greg Joyce’s text messages from The Bronx and beyond — he’s giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Yankees.

If James Cooper did not know anything else about George Lombard Jr., he would at least be able to tell that he is the son of a coach. 

“It’s so obvious,” Cooper said. 

As Lombard’s manager at Single-A Tampa last year and High-A Hudson Valley this year, Cooper saw the top Yankees prospect — the son of Tigers bench coach and former major leaguer George Lombard — always taking the first bus to the stadium and leaving on the last bus. That gave him more time at the field before the game and enough time afterward to take care of his recovery. 

There were the instincts on the field — like knowing the right time to swipe a bag off a pitcher, when to back-pick a runner from his post at shortstop or covering a base when somebody else was out of position. Then there was how the bilingual 19-year-old interacted with his teammates, even the ones who were competing for the same position as him.