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According to Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the postgame scrum of the New York Yankees' Sunday night win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, a win he directly fueled, he's "sucked all season". That self-deprecation is not an attempt to fish for compliments. It's just ... accurate.
Chisholm's bleak walk year has been one of the worst developments in the Yankees' season. He entered the campaign with lofty expectations of 50 homers and 50 steals, and while that always seemed unreasonable, having a future high earner in the middle of the lineup seeking the reach his absolute peak felt like a gift, even if his eventual payday would be elsewhere.
Instead, Chisholm has been flailing and reaching more than he's been connecting, and his plate appearances have been particularly feckless with runners in scoring position, a situation in which he's hitting .163 in 97 plate appearances. That includes the most useless one of Sunday night's game, a first-pitch popout to essentially cement the squandering of a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity in the fifth.
But that wasn't a game-killer, essentially because of Chisholm. What he lacks this year with RISP he makes up for in high-leverage plate appearances in late-and-close games. Yes, Jazz "The Human Contradiction" Chisholm hits .321 with a 1.040 OPS in 58 of those types of plate appearances this season with four home runs, including the game-winner he socked last night.
With a runner on second or third at any point, Chisholm ranks among Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells as the players you want to see least. In a tie game in the eighth inning, he might be the preferential option, and somehow gains the power to do completely against-type things like mash oppo rockets into the left-center bullpen.
Can it be explained? No. Is it welcomed? Considering how much he's "sucked," it's nice to have something to hang our hat on.
Yankees' bizarre late-game performance is exemplified by Jazz Chisholm Jr. contradiction
Chisholm's May 18 home run against Toronto broke a tie in the seventh. He beat Cleveland on the road in June with a solo shot. He beat Detroit on June 23, one day after lollipop gate. He flipped the series opener in DC on its head just before the break. He won last night's essential game to salvage a complete mess against Los Angeles. These contributions are undeniable ... but why doesn't the approach translate during run-of-the-mill mid-game scoring opportunities?
Chisholm's season represents the 2026 Yankees in a nutshell. Fans have correctly diagnosed them as wildly unreliable in standard pressure situations. So why do they somehow have 16 wins when tied or trailing in the eighth inning or later this season, the most in MLB? That total doesn't even include two recent rises from the dead (Sunday night at Fenway, the home finale with Detroit) that they ultimately lost, with the tying run stolen in the Tigers game by Chisholm's relentless pursuit of stolen bases.
The Yankees have put themselves in a strong position in the AL despite weathering absolute brutality from several supposed core contributors. Chisholm, who's both swung his way out of numerous rallies and secured a plethora of late victories all by himself, best exemplifies the inherent conflict of this playfully nauseating Yankees season.
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This article was originally published on yanksgoyard.com as Impossible Jazz Chisholm stat conflict makes him Yankees' most confusing player.
