It began with a borrowed bat, a Bronx roar, and a sense that maybe, just maybe, the Yankees had stumbled onto something electric. Jazz Chisholm Jr., freshly inked to a $5.85 million deal, wasn’t just debuting—he was detonating. In a matter of days, he launched four home runs, two of them using Aaron Judge’s “torpedo” bat, a move that instantly lit up social media and the clubhouse alike. The nickname stuck, the bat gained mythical status, and Chisholm was hailed as the Yankees’ next swaggering star.

Fans didn’t just watch him; they believed in him. And it wasn’t just the results. It was the flair, the bat flips, the charisma. For a franchise always chasing its next icon, Jazz offered something fresh. But in New York, fairy tales are fleeting. Fast forward a month, and the chatter around the torpedo bat has gone radio silent. Chisholm’s bat has cooled, his average has sunk, and the narrative has taken a sharp turn. Now, the same media that anointed him is starting to whisper doubts.

“People thought Jazz was gonna be a chiseled superstar like Christopher Reeve hitting bombs with his torpedo bat,” former Marlins president David Samson said in an episode of Nothing Personal with David Samson. “Now what? No one even talks about it anymore.”

And there it is. The cold splash of reality. Samson’s take might sound like sour grapes—he did, after all, trade for Chisholm in Miami—but it touches a nerve. In the Bronx, buzz doesn’t last unless the bat stays loud. Hype is just helium; performance is the anchor. And right now, Chisholm’s season is floating somewhere in between.

It’s not just about one slump, either. The Yankees, teetering from injuries and inconsistency, need stability. They didn’t bring in Jazz just for highlight reels—they need wins. The “torpedo bat” might’ve been a fun sideshow, but the big leagues demand more than flash.

Still, let’s not write the ending yet. Chisholm’s talent is real. He didn’t accidentally go on that early tear. But now comes the harder part—adjusting, responding, and proving he can do it when the spotlight isn’t rosy but ruthless.

The question isn’t whether Jazz can shine again. The question is whether he can handle the weight of a city that only cheers when you deliver, night after night.

Yankees bullpen shakeup: New faces emerge in relief roles

It wasn’t long ago that Yankees fans were gripping the edge of their seats every time the bullpen door swung open, and not in a good way. Devin Williams, the prized offseason closer, stumbled out of the gate, forcing Aaron Boone into a tough spot: stick with the struggling star or rework the relief puzzle on the fly? Boone chose the latter, and suddenly, two unexpected names, Luke Weaver and Fernando Cruz, are making all the noise. Call it a bullpen remix, but it’s starting to sound pretty good.

Weaver, with a revamped pitch mix, has quietly become Boone’s go-to fireman, while Cruz brings the kind of edge and confidence that plays well under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium. These aren’t just placeholders, they’re rewriting their roles in real time. And here’s the hook: if these arms keep holding it down, the Yankees might just come out of their early-season bullpen drama with a stronger, deeper relief corps than they started with.

In a season that’s already full of twists, the bullpen plotline is one to keep watching.