Yankees' Jazz Chisholm said the Royals 'just got lucky' in Game 2. No, Jazz, we're the lucky ones
Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees celebrates his ninth-inning home run against the Kansas City Royals in ALDS Game 2 on Monday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
By now you’ve probably heard or read the quote from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the aftermath of the Yankees’ series-tying 4-2 loss to the Royals in Game 2 of the ALDS on Monday night.
You know, the one where Chisholm said of the Royals, “They just got lucky.”
I had the good fortune of standing right next to Chisholm when he said it. It’s possible my eyes widened or perhaps I even raised an eyebrow.
But what I really should have done was said, “Thank you, Jazz.”
Thank you for being honest. Thank you for doing what we in the media and most fans want athletes to do — which is to be real. Be authentic. Tell us what’s really on your mind. Don’t talk in cliches.
Spare me the faux outrage about what Chisholm said. Maybe the Royals are going to use it as motivation, as “bulletin board” material.
But if you need extra motivation in a playoff series, you’re probably going to end up going home anyway.
Since I had a front-row seat for the entire Chisholm postgame interview, here’s the context of his quote (although by now the context-less version already has spread like wildfire to every corner of the baseball internet).
Q: “How different does the series feel now after Game 2 compared to after Game 1?”
A: “It still feels the same — that we're going to win. I don't feel like anybody feels any different. We’re gonna go out there and do our thing. We still don't feel like any team is better than us. We had a lot of missed opportunities tonight, so they just got lucky.”
"We're gonna win it... We had a lot of missed opportunities tonight. (The Royals) just got lucky."
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 8, 2024
Jazz Chisholm Jr. speaks on how he feels about the series after the loss pic.twitter.com/EoHHbYHc4m
So Chisholm, who homered in the ninth inning, was expressing his extreme confidence in the Yankees. Isn’t he supposed to feel that way about his team, which, by the way, is the No. 1 seed in the AL?
Chisholm was expanding on some earlier comments about how the Yankees were “unlucky” because they had several hard-hit balls turned into outs.
You know who else felt that way?
Aaron Judge.
“Some guys are hitting the ball hard,” Judge said. “[Alex Verdugo] hit some good balls to rightfield. Jon [Berti] lined out a couple times. Big G [Giancarlo Stanton], he’s always hitting the ball hard. So, a couple of those fall through, a couple of those fall in, it’s a different ballgame. But it didn't happen.”
In a different answer, Chisholm gave credit to the Royals for “a lot of good plays in the field, a lot of diving plays, a lot of great catches out there. I felt like we swung the bat well — just at people.”
Chisholm accurately reflected the prevailing sentiment in the Yankees’ postgame clubhouse — that they lost more than the Royals won. Which makes sense since the Yankees went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and only had one extra base hit (Chisholm’s homer).
Is Chisholm’s “lucky” comment going to jazz up the rest of this ALDS?
If it does — if the good folks of Kansas City boo Chisholm heartily during Wednesday’s Game 3, which I suspect they will — then we say bring it on. Postseason series should have a little bit of an edge to them.
Salvador Perez of the Royals, asked about Chisholm’s comments on Tuesday, said: “I don't worry about it. What's the next question?”
That doesn’t mean Perez was or wasn’t annoyed by it. It was Perez who mocked Carlos Rodon while rounding the bases after his fourth-inning home run on Monday.
Rodon had over-celebrated after each of his three strikeouts in the first inning, shaking his head and sticking out his tongue and bouncing around the mound.
The Royals saw it — especially since Rodon’s unleashed tongue was facing their dugout after his third strikeout — so it was no surprise that Perez copied those gestures as he began the four-run fourth that knocked out Rodon.
It’s all good, clean fun.
I mean, the Mets’ Brandon Nimmo of all people was jawing with Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto the other day in Philly.
Brandon Nimmo! He’s more likely to help an old lady across the street than get into a beef with an opponent. But it happened, and it was glorious.
If the Yankees-Royals series goes the distance and all of the games are exciting — and if Chisholm keeps speaking his mind — then baseball fans will be the lucky ones.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.