Jazz Chisholm Jr. has never been one to shy away from the spotlight, and this week in Houston, the New York Yankees infielder found himself at the center of attention for both his electrifying play and his fiery postgame remarks. With the Yankees fighting to regain their dominant form after a rollercoaster season, Chisholm’s quest to join the franchise’s exclusive 30-30 club—30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a single season—has become a focal point, even as controversy swirls around a game-ending strike call.
On September 3, 2025, as the Yankees faced off against the Houston Astros, Chisholm was one swing away from further cementing his place in Yankees lore. Instead, he found himself locked in a heated exchange with home plate umpire Brian Walsh after being rung up on a borderline strike three call that ended the game in an 8-7 defeat for New York. Chisholm’s frustration was palpable as he tossed his bat and argued with Walsh, later telling Randy Miller of NJ.com, “When you’ve got umpires that want to be the players, that’s what happens. When they don’t have no repercussions for what they do, that’s what happens. ... They take over the game, bro. They want to play the game. (Walsh) might as well have took my bat.”
The incident didn’t end on the field. Social media lit up, with some fans calling for Chisholm to face a 10-game suspension for his outburst, a suggestion many dismissed as over the top. Chisholm himself responded to one critical fan with a blunt “SMD,” and retweeted NBA star Josh Hart’s post, “That Ump needs to be suspended. He’s trash.” The Yankees’ clubhouse, meanwhile, rallied around their teammate. Relief pitcher Devin Williams, who struggled through a disastrous eighth inning, voiced his support: “It’s just ridiculous to have the inning that I had, and then Jazz got the bat taken out of his hands on a pitch that was a lot further from the zone than the pitches I was making.”
Despite the controversy, objective analysis told a different story. Baseball Savant data and the ABS challenge system both confirmed that the pitch in question did indeed clip the edge of the strike zone, making Walsh’s call technically correct. While the technology isn’t perfect and umpires are fallible, in this case, the evidence sided with the man behind the plate. Still, the emotion of the moment underscored the intensity with which Chisholm and the Yankees are approaching the final weeks of the season.
That intensity is fueled in part by the high expectations surrounding this Yankees squad. Jazz Chisholm Jr., acquired in a blockbuster trade from the Miami Marlins at the 2024 deadline, has brought a jolt of athleticism and swagger to the Bronx. He’s also brought results. Entering play on September 3, Chisholm had already smashed a career-high 28 home runs and swiped 26 bases, all while missing 28 games with a right oblique strain. Manager Aaron Boone was effusive in his praise, telling reporters, “I think what we’re seeing with Jazz more now is he’s really starting to control the strike zone, and that’s allowing him to kind of go to another level as a hitter. He’s never walked like this. You’re seeing him routinely do that. You’re seeing him routinely work counts. That’s one of the exciting parts for a guy obviously in the prime of his career now to really start to know the zone as well as he is. That’s going to allow him to ascend even more.”
Chisholm’s recent tear has been nothing short of remarkable. Over his previous 15 games, he hit .280 with seven home runs and 15 RBIs, while notching a .403 on-base percentage thanks to a career-high 54 walks. His power-speed combo is drawing comparisons to Yankees greats. Only Alfonso Soriano and Bobby Bonds have reached the 30-30 plateau in pinstripes, with Soriano achieving it twice in the early 2000s and Bonds doing it in his lone season with the team in 1975. With 24 regular-season games remaining after September 2, Chisholm stands on the cusp of joining that elite company.
The road hasn’t been easy. In addition to the oblique injury, Chisholm battled left groin tightness in June, which sapped his running game for over a month—he didn’t steal a base in 39 consecutive games between late June and July 29. But since shaking off the injury, he’s been a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen base attempts. On September 2, in a 7-1 rout of the Astros, Chisholm launched two home runs off left-handers Framber Valdez and Steven Okert—his first of the night marking the 500th hit of his career. He credited teammates Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger, and Ben Rice for providing invaluable scouting reports: “I’ve been getting good, good scouting reports lately. The first home run was more of, ‘You get him a little bit up [in the strike zone], just push him up and take your normal swing, and you’re going to hit a homer to right field.’ ... For some reason, the other one was right in the spot that he was talking about, and I just swung. I didn’t even think about trying to pull it, trying to go opposite field. I just swung the bat like I know how to swing the bat, and it was a homer. So the scouting reports worked.”
His impact hasn’t gone unnoticed by his peers. First-year Yankees pitcher Max Fried, who faced Chisholm as a rival in the NL East, remarked, “He’s always had the tools and being able to have the power. I think you’re seeing him able to just really tap into it.” Teammate Trent Grisham simply called Chisholm “an impressive player.”
Chisholm’s confidence in the Yankees remains unshaken. Even after a season of ups and downs, he declared, “We all know that this is a super team. We’ve got four MVPs on this team. We’ve got a bunch of other superstars on this team, too. And we’ve got a lot of up-and-coming stars as well, like Ben Rice and Will Warren. We know we’ve got to get to the playoffs, and we’re doing our best to do that.” He acknowledged the team’s inconsistent play but stressed the importance of rising to the occasion as the postseason approaches.
As the Yankees push toward October, all eyes will be on Jazz Chisholm Jr.—not just for his pursuit of the 30-30 milestone, but for the passion and edge he brings to every game. Whether he’s launching home runs, swiping bags, or sparking debates with umpires, Chisholm is proving to be the heartbeat of a Yankees team still searching for its best self. With 24 games left in the regular season, the chase for history—and redemption—continues in the Bronx.
