The Jazz Age kicked off at Yankee Stadium on Friday with a touch of style. Jazz Chisholm Jr. got ready for his first game with the Yankees wearing a T-shirt that had “314” on it, a nod to the distance of the right field short porch from home plate.
“This is my plan today. That’s why I put on this shirt,” Chisholm said before the Yankees’ game against Toronto. “I think it’s going to be kind of fun. I don’t think I hit all my home runs to the right-field line, anyway.
Most of my home runs are really right-center field to center field. So I’m just kidding with the 314 shirt, obviously.” Chisholm went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in an 8-5 loss, leaving two runners on base.
Chisholm was traded from Miami last Saturday for three minor league players. He got a hit while playing center field the next night in a win at Boston and then made his debut at third base in Philadelphia.
He hit two home runs against the Phillies on both Monday and Tuesday, joining Trevor Story of Colorado in 2016 as the only players with four homers in their first three games with a new team.
He came into his first home game with the Yankees hitting .368 (7 for 19) with eight RBIs, helping the Yankees to a five-game winning streak, their best run since early June.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone initially thought the shirt’s number was an area code from St. Louis.
“He brings a lot of swag and energy to the park every day — a light and a smile,” Boone said. “He’s embraced our team, and they’ve embraced him back. He plays with energy, confidence, and fearlessness that have really served him well so far.”
Chisholm mentioned that his younger brother and stepfather were at the stadium. When the Bleacher Creatures chanted his name during the first inning Roll Call, he responded with a step-back jump shot, like his idol Kobe Bryant.
“I think they will show him the love tonight,” Boone said, referring to the fans.
Chisholm, who is from the Bahamas, played five seasons with the Marlins, hitting .246 with 66 home runs, 205 RBIs, and 81 stolen bases. He became an All-Star in 2022. His real first name is Jasrado.
“I don’t know the history. My grandma made it up,” Chisholm said. “Me and dad have the same name, so it’s just my grandma made up a name and she just rolled with it.”
After brief stints in the playoffs with the Marlins, Chisholm is excited to join a Yankees team aiming for the World Series. He’s looking forward to playing in front of bigger crowds in the Bronx rather than Miami’s less crowded stands.
“It’s more something to play for, playing for a championship, playing to go get a ring and the other guys in the clubhouse believing that we can go get a ring, too,” he said.
“It’s a lot more exciting to be out there with the guys that I’m out there with now like Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, guys that could push me to my absolute best. I feel like I haven’t had anybody — anyone that really pushed me to be my best, especially to compete with on the team.”
Chisholm played as a middle infielder for his first three years with Miami but moved to center field for the 2023 season. The Yankees needed him at third base due to DJ LeMahieu’s ongoing slump.
“He’s been playing like he’s just out in the backyard, relaxed and letting his talent show,” said Boone, a former third baseman. “He’s made four or five excellent plays and handled the routine ones, too. He might still have some learning to do, as experience is really important.”
At just 26 years old, Chisholm will be eligible for arbitration in the next two winters and won’t be a free agent until after the 2026 World Series. He might become the Yankees’ regular second baseman next year if Gleyber Torres leaves as a free agent.
“He plays the game with joy,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. “There’s clear value in having him under control for several years. While that’s part of our evaluation, we’re mainly focused on the upcoming season.”
