WASHINGTON — From the day Jazz Chisholm Jr. made his first start at third base, manager Aaron Boone warned there would be growing pains. About a month later, after a delayed release, those growing pains are starting to show up in droves.
Chisholm started the first 15 games as a third baseman and played well defensively, but has committed five errors in his last four games.
He did not commit an error in the Yankees' 5-2 loss to the Nationals in the series finale.
“We’re still learning,” Boone said before Wednesday’s loss. “Overall, it’s really good to be playing against elite teams. [defense]But these practices are going to be really valuable for him. These plays are going to be really good learnings for him moving forward. … It's part of the growing pains.”
The Yankees still have the entire month of September to get Chisholm more comfortable with the intricacies of third base before the pressure of competition comes in October.
Meanwhile, the left-hander continues to make an impact with the plate, hitting his ninth home run in his 20th game as a Yankee in Wednesday's loss.
But as of Tuesday, the leading indicators were not in Chisholm's favor.
He recorded minus-1 in outs (via Baseball Savant) and minus-4 defensive runs saved (via FanGraphs) in his new home.
In addition to the throwing error in the first inning Tuesday night (which essentially happened when the shortstop, his starting major league position, tried to make a catch of speedy first baseman James Wood), there was another play in the 4-2 loss that exposed Chisholm's inexperience at third base.
In a poor sixth inning overall for the Yankees, Chisholm couldn't get Dylan Cruz to score a touchdown, allowing the rookie to steal third base and ultimately score.
Jose Trevino's throw reached the base before Wood, but Chisholm (who had shifted toward shortstop) had trouble breaking his momentum and initially put his glove on the ground, but Cruz dodged it and got it safely in.
“It's tough,” Boone said. “Once you get off the line and you have a good slide, you've got to do everything you can to get the momentum going and get to third base. So it's tough to put yourself in a good position to handle a really good slide.”
In Monday's series opener, Chisholm made two errors on the same play, dropping the ball while stepping back to deal with a difficult hop, then making matters worse by throwing a one-hop ball past DJ LeMahieu to first base.
On Sunday, Chisholm made a great play by diving to catch a ground ball, but then his throw to first base bounced for an error, and then two batters made another fielding error on a ball bouncing up the middle.
But while the Yankees can work with Chisholm at the position before games and discuss plays that are new to him after spending his career playing shortstop, second base and center field, ultimately learning through experience (and failure) may be what serves him best.
“I think that's the role of the representative. And to discuss the situation. [about] “The nuances of the position,” Boone said, “third base, and I can tell you from having played it most of my life, is a position where sometimes you don't have time to make a read because you're on the left side of the diamond. If you don't get your first read right, it can get you in a little bit of trouble.”
“Overall he’s done really well, but that’s down to experience making quick and good decisions, which starts with good pre-pitch preparation. [setup] “Then we'll see if he's in good position athletically, if he's taking a drop step, if he's willing to attack the ball, what his footwork is like. Overall he's really good, but experience will be a good teacher for him.”
