Jazz Chisholm Is Showing Yankees a New Side of Him Behind the Scenes
If the New York Yankees are on the fence about Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s future, this week may have changed the way they look at their charismatic shortstop, who seems to be a lightning rod for attention - be it positive or negative.
It wasn't that long ago that Jake Peavy was slamming his desk and talking over co-host Lauren Shehadi when Chisholm's blowing of his bubblegum threw him into a rage on the MLB Network.
This week, Chisholm has been awesome both on and off the field, and it should be recognized. That ninth-inning blast off of former Yankee farmhand Matt Krook, which put the Bombers ahead, will be remembered as one of the biggest moments of the year, and the bat flip helped further that case for it being memorable, but it's not even his best moment from the last seven days.
After ace Cam Schlittler put the team on his back against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees dropped the next two in lifeless fashion. Chisholm emerged as a spark plug for his team following a lifeless 3-0 loss, which saw a solid start from Gerrit Cole go to waste.
Chisholm is more of a leader than most realize
According to NJ.com's Bob Klapisch, Chisholm challenged his teammates to be better. He didn't think their play was up to par, and he was right.
"Enough is enough, we're better than this," Chisholm told his teammates after the Tampa loss. "We have to wake up."
Chisholm took it a step further and also criticized what the team is doing off the field. The Athletic's Brendan Kuty reports that he wants his teammates to be more close-knit, and that they have been abandoning the familial temperament that all the great teams have.
"I just feel like we've got to be more together," he said. "I feel like we're losing ourselves and we were splitting further and further apart, and I just feel like when we're together, we're unstoppable."
The Yankees have responded to Chisholm in a big way
The Yankees immediately reacted to Chisholm's initial plea and tagged nemesis Drew Rasmussen, who has made a career of owning the Bombers for six earned runs. One of the best pitchers in baseball was out of the game in the third inning, and Chisholm's squad came out of the Trop with a 12-4 victory.
Of course, Chisholm wasn't just critical of his teammates this week. He got on himself, making the claim to reporters that his at-bats have been terrible. It was only fitting that, after being hard on himself and everybody around him, his heroics in the ninth inning gave the Yankees their second straight win.
Smooth Jazz
- MLB (@MLB) July 11, 2026
(MLB x @JAL_Official_jp) pic.twitter.com/GLqsxa5g0n
There's always a lot of chatter from the typical blowhards about Chisholm being a locker room cancer, but one thing is clear. If Chisholm were truly a disruptor, he wouldn't be able to provide the type of spark that he has given the Yanks this week.
It's tough to say whether he'll be back next season, but hopefully this can be an epic swan song for Chisholm from here on out if this is the end of the line for his time in the Bronx.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/yankees/onsi as Jazz Chisholm Is Showing Yankees a New Side of Him Behind the Scenes.
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This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM.