Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s teammates spent part of Thursday's champagne celebration booing him.
But it came from a far more loving place than the boos the Kauffman Stadium crowd showered on Chisholm after he called the Royals' win in Game 2 “lucky.”
And after the Yankees headed to the ALCS and won the series, Chisholm spoke glowingly about how he's been welcomed in his first two-and-a-half months with his new team.
“We're always willing to go to war with them,” Chisholm said Thursday night.
“They introduced me like I was the little brother they always wanted, and I feel like I'm the little brother they always wanted. Now that I'm here, I feel like I'm the little brother they always wanted. I know I haven't accomplished much with this series, but they made me feel like I created the world. So being here with these guys made me feel like I created the world. It’s everything.”
Chisholm had two hits in 15 at-bats and a home run in four consecutive games, but in Game 2 he made two mistakes on defense and lost the game.
Although he is still adjusting to third base on the spot, in the 6th inning of Game 4, after Michael Garcia's late slide to second base led to a triple, he replaced Anthony Volpe, bringing energy from the beginning and helping the team. Mate also rates it highly. Cleaning up the bench.
In turn, Chisholm's teammates helped him focus on what was most important.
“I feel like everyone supports each other,” Chisholm said. “Baseball is a team sport, but a lot of people get caught up in the individual aspect of what they have to do. But this team is relentless no matter what they do. They're going to go out there and get a win. No one cares how we understand it. No one cares what their numbers are. They just want to win.”
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Chisholm stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the second inning Thursday night and thought he had issued a walk, but his 3-0 pitch was ruled a strike.
He then struck out on the next two pitches, but was warned by Gerrit Cole when he returned to the dugout.
“He came to me and said, 'Keep it locked up. We're going to win this game,'” Chisholm said. “I can't thank him enough.”
The Yankees used 21 of the 26 players on their roster during the ALDS, but Luis Gil, Ben Rice, Jason Dominguez, Trent Grisham and Jose Trevino did not play.
They had nearly 20 points left before Giancarlo Stanton replaced Duke Ellis as a pinch hitter late in Game 4.
The Yankees need four starting pitchers, so Gil is expected to be in the rotation for the ALCS, but if the Yankees decide to use an additional (12th) pitcher, one position player There's a chance someone will be on the chopping block, and it could be Mark Leiter Jr. Or Marcus Stroman — fewer days off in this series.
