The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Round. There was an outcry as Aaron Boone leaned into analytics and left Jazz Chisholm and Ben Rice out of the lineup. After the game, Chisholm was displeased, to say the least.
“Boone, renowned for his legendary communication skills, reportedly texted Chisholm Jr. on Monday night and informed him he wouldn't be starting. No discord has been reported stemming from this moment in time. As Chisholm said (angrily, into a cluster of coats), 'We gotta do whatever we gotta do to win, right? That's how I look at it.' That's a mature response, made in a somewhat immature manner at a low moment,” Yanks Go Yard’s Adam Weinrib wrote.
On Wednesday, Chisholm played a huge role in the win that forced a Game 3. Following the game, he revealed how he got his anger out the night before.
“I played MLB The Show and I mercy-ruled someone,” Chisholm said when asked how he bounced back to help the Yankees even up the series with a 4–3 win on Wednesday night. “It’s true.”
He also made it very clear that there are no hard feelings between him and Boone.
“There was never a problem between me and Aaron Boone. He's been my manager all year and I've stood behind him all year. We always have disagreements—I mean, I played third base this year and we had a little bit of a disagreement in that—but at the end of the day, I always stand with Boonie because he understands where I come from. He knows I'm a passionate player and he knows I wear my feelings on my sleeve. He knows that I'm here to compete,” Chisholm told the media.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
While no one likes to sit on the bench during a playoff game, Chisholm didn’t do a great job of hiding his frustrations. However, he came through the next day, scoring the go-ahead run for the Yankees.
Chisholm is talented, and in another win-or-go-home game, he’s going to do what it takes to keep the season alive. It’s also important that he made it clear there’s no tension with his manager.