The Yankees have a problem. It’s not just that they lost the series finale to the Red Sox on Sunday night. It’s that their star infielder ended the game in the clubhouse after getting tossed for arguing a checked swing call in the sixth inning.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts before being ejected. The whole thing started when home plate umpire Adam Hamari ruled that Chisholm offered at a Sonny Gray curveball in the dirt. New York’s leadoff man didn’t agree. He turned and got into Hamari’s face, which brought Aaron Boone sprinting out of the third base dugout to intervene.
Boone tried to talk to Hamari, but Chisholm spiked his helmet while the manager was still pleading the case. That was it. Ejection. Anthony Volpe moved into the leadoff spot to replace him.
The weird part? Hamari decided not to appeal the checked swing call to the third base umpire. That’s a standard ask in those situations, and the fact that he just ruled on it himself without consulting anyone seemed to set Chisholm off.
Look, Chisholm hasn’t been himself lately. The guy was supposed to be a game changer when the Yankees acquired him, and the athleticism is obviously there. But he’s pressing. The swing looks long. The strikeouts are piling up. And when you’re the leadoff guy on a team that can’t score, every called third base feels personal.
The anemic offense thing isn’t just about Chisholm. The Yankees have been weirdly quiet at the plate for a team with this much payroll. Gray carved them up on Sunday, and the lineup had no answer. Chisholm’s ejection was almost a relief — at least something happened.
Boone didn’t exactly defend his player after the game. He said the argument was about the checked swing and that Chisholm crossed a line with his reaction. That’s manager speak for “he lost his cool and I can’t really blame him but also I have to say something responsible.”
Fans online had plenty to say. The clip of Chisholm getting tossed was all over social media, with reactions split between people who thought he had a point and people who just want him to start hitting.
One thing worth watching: how the team responds. The Yankees are in a tough stretch, and losing your leadoff hitter to an ejection in a close game against a division rival isn’t great for morale. Chisholm will sit for a game if the league suspends him, but the bigger question is whether he can get out of his own head.
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