

NEW YORK — Jazz Chisholm Jr. only knew one speed throughout his baseball career: 100%. Next to the flash and flare, the audaciousness, was a player who didn’t know how to throttle down.
That’s how he made his mark. Even behind the mega-smile was an edge. Aggression.
And after the Yankees took the first game of a three-game set against the Red Sox on Friday night, a game in which Chisholm went 3 for 4 with four RBIs, including a three-run shot off Sox starter Walker Buehler in the first inning, the Yankees infielder made it clear he has found his sweet spot.
“I play at 70%,” Chisholm said following the contest. “Whether it’s defense, offense.”
The comment drew some chuckles among media members, but also confusion.
Did this mean Chisholm wasn’t trying? He sure looks as though he’s moving, and swinging at 100%. How did Chisholm even come up with that percentage?
“I don’t know,” said Chisholm. It works.”
Chisholm broke it down. He’s always been a max-effort guy, sometimes moving quicker than he has to, swinging harder than he should. It wasn’t that he was trying to do such a thing. It was just that his body naturally was wired that way to do such actions that others could only fathom.
“I was Ricky Bobby growing up,” said Chisholm, referencing Will Ferrell’s character from Talladega Nights. “For me, it was just all I knew. It was just play at 100%, 100% swings, throw at 100%. Even when you’re being flashy, in order for you to be a flashy player you got to be able to go out 100%. You just can’t be out there lackadaisical. You have to be at your top peak to make those flashy plays.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone, noting Chisholm’s natural wiry build and athleticism, said he doesn’t need to force anything.
“We all know exactly what he meant,” Boone said. “And I think he’s right. I think a lot of times less is more for guys, especially when you’re in the batter’s box. But you hear over the course of time a lot. I’ve heard Joe Torre talk and Alex Rodriguez talk about, like, think small, less is more sometimes. And especially for a guy as talented as Jazz, nice and easy usually serves him well.”
In Friday’s contest, Chisholm parked his three-run homer to straightaway center. It came on a sloppy knuckle curveball from Buehler below the zone. The ball left Chisholm’s bat at 105.8 miles per hour, traveling 417 feet. His bat speed on that swing on that swing was measured at 73 mph. League average this year is 71.7 mph.
In an era when players are taught to swing and throw as hard as they can, Chisholm’s 70% can still reign supreme.
Still, there is a party of Chisholm that only knows how to go full throttle. And it starts with his personality. He ignites this Yankee club with an energy that is typically the antithesis of the historical, and often criticized, “Yankee Way.”
And just ahead of Sunday’s game, Red Sox starter Hunter Dobbins took a shot at the Yankees. The rookie — who got through five innings in Sunday’s victory — told the Boston Herald that “My dad was a diehard Red Sox fan. And I’ve said it before, that if the Yankees were the last team to give me a contract, I’d retire.”
Boone side-stepped the comment, smirking and saying that it was “a hypothetical” before calling Dobbins “just young.” Chisholm, though, said on social media he wants to see “more trash talk in baseball.”
“I don’t think I would ever say that,” Chisholm said of Dobbins’ quote. I think it closes doors. But I like it though. I do like it. I like the competitiveness. I’m a huge fan of college baseball right now, just because of how they are right now. They are super competitive and super fiery and I like that.”
Does it add anything to the game?
“Yeah,” Chisholm responded. “It adds a little spiciness. A little fun. The spiciness, you enjoy it. You’re more locked in as a fan because you know what’s going on. It’s fun.”
Even with 70% as his new normal, at his core, he can’t change who he is when challenged.
This news was originally published on this post .
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