The New York Yankees made a tactical change with respect to Jazz Chisholm Jr. for the Wild Card series opener against the Boston Red Sox. They benched Chisholm Jr. since left-handed ace Garrett Crochet was taking the mound for the Red Sox.
The move didn't pan out any well as Crochet found ways to choke the Yankees, who rested a hitter with 30+ home runs and 30+ stolen bases on the season. The Yankees eventually lost the game 3-1 and Chisholm Jr.'s replacement Amed Rosario at second base went hitless in three plate appearances.
This has drawn ire from the fanbase, with people calling out the organization for making a mistake by sitting out an All-Star.
"Yankees benched 57 homers and 145 RBIs in the biggest game of the year cuz of analytics lol," one fan commented.
Yankees benched 57 homers and 145 RBIs in the biggest game of the year cuz of analytics lol pic.twitter.com/d98nABahxi
— Zion (@ZionOlojede) October 1, 2025
"Justifying platooning players who had All-Star level seasons in Game 1 of a 3 game series for subpar players is comedy," another fan wrote.
"Chisholm was 17% below league average against lefties. Rice is 12% below league average in his career. You guys are why sports betting companies are making bank," one fan commented.
One fan compared the stats line of Ben Rice vs Crochet as compared to Chisholm.
Ben Rice vs. Garrett Crochet; Regular Season: 9 PA , .125/.125/.250, 0 HR, 0 K; Ben Rice’s career vs lefties: .189/.270/.413/.683; Jazz Chisholm Jr. vs. Garrett Crochet
Regular Season: 5 PA , .000/.200/.000, 0 HR, 3 K; Jazz Chisholm Jr’s career vs lefties: 229/.290/.374/.665," one fan noted.
The Yankees decided to sit Chisholm Jr. in favor of Amed Rosario in part because of defensive considerations and the latter's prior success vs. Crochet.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s reaction after being benched
It seems Jazz Chisholm Jr. didn't saw this move from the Yankees coming. He appeared visibly frustrated and his body language in the postgame put-off was telling. In the post-game during media availability, Chisholm Jr. avoided to make any eye contact and chose to do most of the interview while showing his back and rummaging through his locker.
“We got to do whatever we got to do to win, right? That’s how I look at it,” Chisholm Jr. said.
When asked if he was surprised by the decision, he replied:
“I guess, yeah.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was made aware of the decision that he would be benched the night before the wild card game. The All-Star said he was caught-off guard by the decision. It remains to be seen if the second baseman returns to the lineup in the second game.