Yankees must embrace the extreme pressure of their World Series or bust mentality
The Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. takes part in batting practice during a workout at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. says he plays better when it’s loud.
He likes the weight of the pinstripes and the glare of the lights. He’s baseball’s Tinkerbell - an athlete who spent years in the forgotten realm of the Marlins' loanDepot Park, brought to life by the applause of the Bronx faithful. And even growing up in the relative tranquil of the Bahamas, Chisholm conjured up pressure, poise, and a whole lot of noise.
“I used to be in my backyard as a kid just dreaming of going to the playoffs and hitting in the bottom of the ninth and the crowd going crazy,” he said Wednesday. “Then I’d flip up that rock like it’s a pitch and I hit it and it’s a home run ... That’s been going through my head all my life. I feel like all my life, I’ve been preparing for this moment - playing at Yankee Stadium and getting to the World Series and winning it.”
There’s no reason to doubt Chisholm’s self-assurance - he was the Yankees’ best trade deadline acquisition and has never once looked overwhelmed by his surroundings. But his comments speak to an immutable fact that could follow the Yankees all the way to the Canyon of Heroes. It’s World Series or bust, and success this postseason means the entire roster will have to embrace extreme expectations, then exceed them.
After finishing with the best record in the American League, the Yankees, along with the Dodgers, are the odds-on favorites to bring home a championship. This is the only year they’re guaranteed to employ Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole (the latter has a player option for next season). And despite team success, Aaron Boone has been batting away people calling for his job for … well, a long time. So has Brian Cashman. Oh, and have you heard? They haven’t won a championship since 2009. If you adjust for Yankee inflation, that’s about six eons.
But though the postseason is a month of chaos, ruled by neither logic nor magic, there’s reason to have confidence that the Yankees can pull this off. It’s not just that they have the talent - and, save for some well-documented but relatively manageable deficiencies, they sure do - it’s that they seem to have the mettle, too.
Cole, Saturday’s Game 1 starter, has never shied away from the weight of competition. He has a 2.93 ERA in 17 playoff games, and though I know we’re not supposed to talk about 2019 ALCS around these parts, we’re going to talk about the 2019 ALCS. As an Astro, his Game 3 victory against the Yankees was impressive because he dominated a fearsome lineup without his best stuff. Then he emptied the tank as the winning pitcher in Game 5 of the World Series, tossing a seven-inning, three-hit gem against the Nationals to give Houston a 3-2 series lead that was only marred by . . .
Juan Soto hit a homer against an otherwise untouchable Cole in that Game 5, then added a solo homer against Justin Verlander in Game 6 to force the decisive Game 7 that would eventually give the Nationals the title. That postseason, in his age 20 season, was full of jaw-dropping highlights, including an eighth-inning go-ahead homer that advanced the Nationals past the Brewers in the Wild Card round. Soto has thrived in the Bronx, despite the added onus of playing in a contract year that can make him the second-richest player in baseball.
The list goes on: Aaron Judge made a statement two years ago when he confronted his own contract season by setting the American League home run record. Giancarlo Stanton has historically been effective in the playoffs, slashing .260/.327/.637 in 27 postseason games, with 11 homers. Despite what the naysayers say, overall, this has been a very good year with some bad stretches that often were blown out of proportion. And for all the pressure the Yankees are facing, opponents are going to face a good bit of pressure, too.
“Think about (being) the guy hitting in front of the MVP (in Judge) every day,” Chisholm said of Soto. “They want to pitch around him but they want to pitch around you too … Then, after him, you’ve got Big G behind him who’s a former MVP and basically, they’re trying to pitch around him right away.”
Of course, a lot of things still have to go right. Teams likely have been crafting strategies meant to neutralize Judge and Soto about as soon as Soto’s trade from the Padres was confirmed. The starting pitching has to be there, and that means getting the good version of Carlos Rodon, who’s set to start Game 2. Pitching coach Matt Blake said Wednesday that they have a number of guys they can deploy in high-leverage situations, but success might very well run through Luke Weaver, who more or less took over Clay Holmes’ closer role.
But that’s why they play the games, right? No one wins a ring by wilting when the lights get bright. So consider Chisholm’s words a rallying cry.
“It’s everything I’ve always wanted," he said. “I’ve been waiting for a moment where I could have (the crowds) every day, and have that feeling that it’s going to be big out there every night, and I’ve got to put it all out there every night …
“It feeds me.”
For the Yankees, it's time to eat.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.