Talk about big shoes to fill. Trying to play shortstop for the New York Yankees after Derek Jeter is roughly comparable to playing shooting guard for the Chicago Bulls. No matter how good you are, you will always be in the shadow of the G.O.A.T. This is the fate that awaits Kyle Holder, a 25-year-old shortstop who just got called up from the minors by the Yankees. Despite the pressure of the high-stakes audition, Holder has already more than proven his prowess with a bat. If you are picturing Robert Redford in "The Natural," launching majestic homers into orbit with his homespun bat "Wonderboy," think again. Holder has a career .264 batting average. In the minors. Rather, Holder's best bet with a bat seems to be the type fashioned from 3/8" plywood. Every year during spring training, the Yankees hold a fun tournament to improve team chemistry and build camaraderie. In 2009, for example, the team pool tournament saw Mariano Rivera claim the title. Now in Florida for the Grapefruit League, the top recruits tested their skills on the ping-pong table. Practicing for March Madness, the team posted a 64-player bracket, complete with highly subjective seeding. "We've got a big bracket and it’s catered in there, so it should be a lot of fun," said manager Aaron Boone beforehand. “It builds togetherness away from the baseball stuff, so we’re trying to build into that close culture... guys get competitive, talking smack." Despite the attention commanded by towering slugger Aaron Judge and new $324 million pitcher Gerrit Cole, it was Kyle Holder who earned the bragging rights. Now if he can just apply his sharpened reflexes and hand-eye coordination to dominating on the diamond, he'll be in business. Derek who?

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