Bahamian professional baseball player Jasrado ‘Jazz’ Chisholm Jr. might want to keep using Aaron Judge’s bat for the rest of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season.
The star second baseman of the New York Yankees had another impressive showing at the plate on Wednesday, drilling a two-run triple in four at-bats to help lead the Yankees over the Cleveland Guardians, 8-4, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
With the win, the Yankees swept the series three games to none, setting themselves up nicely for a three-game series against divisional rival, the Toronto Blue Jays, this weekend.
Since utilizing Judge’s slightly heavier bat, Chisholm has hit a three-run home run, blasted a go-ahead solo home run which turned out to be the winning run, and hit a two-run go-ahead triple, in four games. During that span, he has those three extra base hits, two home runs and a triple, in 15 at-bats, has drove in seven runs, and has scored five times.
Chisholm’s home run on Sunday gave the Yankees a 6-1 lead over the Boston Red Sox in the finale of that series at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, and they went on to win by that same score. On Tuesday, Chisholm’s home run gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead over the Guardians. They went on to win by that same score, and yesterday, Chisholm blasted a two-run triple in the bottom of the fourth inning, giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead over the Guardians. They went on to win 8-4.
“I just seized the bat for a change,” said Chisholm to reporters.
Chisholm admitted that he didn’t ask to use Judge’s bat — he just took it out of Judge’s bag like a big brother/lil brother kind of gesture. Judge is currently out of the lineup with a right rib injury, and Chisholm and the Yankees have flourished in his absence.
After losing their first two games without Judge, the Yankees have won five of their last six games, including four straight, and are a season-high 15 games over .500 baseball. The Yankees were the first team in the American League of MLB to win 40 games this season and have a 41-26 win/loss record — locked in a virtual tie with the Tampa Bay Rays (40-26) for the best record in the American League.
On Tuesday, in the middle game of their series against the Guardians, Chisholm was met with a chorus of “overrated” chants by the fans in Cleveland when he stepped up to the plate in the fifth inning.
Chisholm struck out in that at-bat, but three innings later, he blasted a 360-foot go-ahead home run off Guardians’ reliever Tim Herrin, giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead. That towering shot had an exit velocity of 107.3 miles per hour (mph) at a launch angle of 41 degrees. The Yankees went on to win that game, 3-2.
“When I pick up his bat, I know that I can’t swing as hard as I can, or else I would tear an oblique like last year,” said Chisholm to reporters. “Sometimes, you need a lil bit more weight and and lil bit less on your swing. I feel like it just helps me to go out there and control the barrel. I just try to touch the ball instead of hitting it so hard, and try to keep it nice and compact.”
Chisholm said he embraced the heckling he was getting from the fans in Cleveland.
“I love it,” said Chisholm to reporters. “I feel like those were the loudest chants we heard. It was great.”
Chisholm entered Sunday’s game against the Red Sox (the first occasion of him hitting a homer with Judge’s bat) with a .309/.368/.529 slash line with three home runs and eight RBIs (runs batted in) in his previous 18 games. For the season, he is at .232/.309/.408 with nine home runs, 29 RBIs and 34 runs scored. He also has 17 stolen bases — sixth in the majors.
On Tuesday, after launching his homer, Chisholm stood at home plate admiring the blast before taking nearly 32 seconds to complete his home run trot.
“That fuels me,” Chisholm said when asked about the chants. “That trot was really for the fans.”
Herrin got Chisholm down 0-2 in that at-bat in the eighth inning on Tuesday, starting the at-bat with five straight sliders before mixing in a fastball that Chisholm took for ball three. Herrin then went back to the slider, and it caught too much of the plate. Chisholm was able to turn on it and sent out of the park.
“I swung at the first slider and realized that it was going to be a tough pitch, so I was waiting for a pitch that was going to start right at me,” Chisholm said to reporters. “I got one and handled it. He’s [Herrin] a good pitcher, and he doesn’t really miss his spots, but I was ready.”
Three-time American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Judge is sidelined for about six weeks with a stress fracture in his right rib. Chisholm and his Yankees’ teammates are stepping up without him.
The Yankees will go on the road for three games against the Blue Jays this weekend, playing at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
