CHICAGO — Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 28 games without playing at all and then another 39 without stealing a base.
And yet, the Yankees second baseman is slugging and running his way toward a potential 30-30 season.
For now, Chisholm has secured a season with 26 home runs and 25 steals, after swiping another bag Friday night, making him the sixth player in Yankees history to achieve a 25-25 season.
Chisholm joined former Yankees Curtis Granderson (41 HRs, 25 SBs in 2011), Alex Rodriguez (36 HRs, 28 SBs in 2004), Alfonso Soriano (39 HRs, 41 SBs in 2002 and 38 HRs, 25 SBs in 2003), Rickey Henderson (28 HRs, 87 SBs in 1986) and Bobby Bonds (32 HRs, 30 SBs in 1975) in the 25-25 club.
There have only been 72 30-30 seasons in the history of the game — three of them by Yankees (two from Soriano and one by Bonds) — giving Chisholm a chance to join select company over the final month of the season.
That is despite missing the entire month of May with an oblique strain and then going from June 11-July 29 with only two stolen base attempts, neither of which were successful.
He was playing through a groin issue for most of that stretch but has since made up for lost time, going a perfect 15-for-15 in his previous 27 games entering play Saturday.
For the most part, Chisholm’s talent has shone through since joining the Yankees last summer at the trade deadline, even if there have been some bumps along the way.
In his first 149 games as a Yankee, he had clubbed 37 home runs with 43 steals, leading manager Aaron Boone to call him a “40-40 caliber player.”
Chisholm is unlike anyone else on the Yankees roster, both in terms of his combination of power and speed and his eclectic personality.
“Carefree, interesting,” Boone said.
“What do the kids like to say; he’s got aura? … Lot of swag. We’ve reined in some of the swag, but I do love the home run trot. Most importantly, he has fit in. He brings a different element to the ballpark every day. Most importantly, he’s been super productive.”
Of course, that is what it ultimately comes down to, especially at this point in the season with the Yankees trying to chase down a playoff spot and perhaps even the division if they can prove they can consistently beat teams other than the dregs of the league.
Unlike most of his teammates, Chisholm is not shy about looking ahead.
He said Thursday night the Yankees are not just trying to claim an American League wild-card spot, but that they want to win the AL East.
“We’re never satisfied with second place or third place,” he said. “We just lost the World Series last year, that’s second place and we still weren’t satisfied. I don’t think we’re going to be satisfied with coming in second or third in the division. That would be even more upsetting than losing the World Series. So right now, it’s just like, we’re going to go out there and win that [the division] and then we’re going to go win the World Series.”
How Chisholm performs down the stretch can have a hand in that.
The native of the Bahamas is an emotional player, which can work in his favor or against him depending on how he channels it.
But he has benefitted from being in a clubhouse with a handful of veterans to help guide him.
“It’s sick to have this group of veterans around,” Chisholm said. “Not a lot of guys get this, so I’m grateful for it.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
