For a moment on Tuesday night, the New York Yankees had exactly what they needed to execute a threat from the Baltimore Orioles. It was a routine grounder with two possible outs to end the inning. Instead, the play unraveled in an instant as Jazz Chisholm Jr. failed to capitalize on a chance for a double play. And the player then unloaded his frustration on an unexpected target standing near second base. 

The teams were tied scoreless in the bottom of the second. Yankees starter Carlos Rodón allowed Christian Encarnacion-Strand to walk after getting Gunnar Henderson on a flyout. Leody Taveras then recorded a single while Encarnacion-Strand reached second. Christian Franklin, who made his MLB debut just 2 weeks ago, appeared at the plate.

He grounded the very first pitch he faced, and it went toward second base. The broadcasters anticipated a double play, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. couldn’t even grab the ball properly. He barely managed to stop it with his bare hand while all the runners were safe. And he didn’t look very happy with the umpire in front of him, who he felt blocked his view of the ball. 

“Jazz is charged with an E4 on this play and is visibly upset because the umpire was in his way,” Talkin’ Yanks captioned the clip shared on X.

Chisholm walked up to the umpire with his hands spread on either side and frustration apparent on his face. And it looked like he was complaining that the umpire didn’t move out of his way in time. The replay showed that Ryan Additon, the second base umpire, was right in between the batter and Jazz. As a result, the 2B wasn’t able to track the ground ball clearly and missed the chance for a double play. And instead of ending the inning then and there, Carlos Narváez entered the batter’s box with the bases loaded. 

Fortunately for the Yankees, Rodón needed only seven more pitches to strike out two more batters, and the score line remained the same. But first, he had a word with Chisholm. It appeared as if he was asking him to let the incident go. 

But this isn’t the first time Chisholm has had an issue with an official. 

Back in June, the Yankees were facing the Boston Red Sox. The 28-year-old checked his swing during one of his at-bats, which the plate umpire called a third strike. Chisholm was upset that home-plate umpire Adam Hamari did not consult third-base umpire Clint Vondrak regarding that call. 

While manager Aaron Boone stepped out of the dugout to avoid any escalation, Chisholm threw his helmet on the ground, and the first-base umpire ejected him. The pattern can also be traced back to April 2025, when he took to social media after disagreeing with the umpire over a strikeout call against the Rays. But he later deleted his post. However, the damage was done, and the MLB suspended him for one game and fined him for violating the league’s social media policy for players. 

However, Chisholm’s real problem since signing his 1-year, $10.2M deal with the Yankees extends far beyond umpire disputes.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. has a much bigger issue with the bat

The Yankees brought in Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Miami Marlins in exchange for three minor league prospects. That was in July 2024. And the youngster went on to hit .273 AVG and .825 OPS for the Pinstripes in 46 games in the remainder of the season. It was even better last year as he hit a career-high 31 home runs, recording a .813 OPS. He also earned his second All-Star selection and his first Silver Slugger Award in 2025. This prompted a renewal with the Yankees for this season. 

But Chisholm hasn’t been as effective as New York expected. His .214 batting average and .677 OPS are the worst in his career since his rookie year. And the drop in his performance has become more apparent since the Yankees’ entire lineup is struggling.

They have some of their key hitters, like Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton, on the injured list. Ben Rice is going through his worst stretch with a .096 batting average in his last 15 games. And the Yankees as a whole?

They are 29th of 30 in the league with a .229 batting average.

Obviously, that’s not entirely on Chisholm Jr, but the team needed him to step up when their biggest hitters are down. While the 2x All-Star hasn’t been able to improve his at-bats, his recent defensive error added another stain to his ledger.

Though he didn’t contribute any runs while hitting, the New York Yankees eventually won the series opener 3-1 in Baltimore, courtesy of Trent Grisham’s heroics. They have managed to retain their position (2nd in the AL East) with a 70-55 record. But the Pinstripes would want to see some immediate turnaround in performance from Jazz Chisholm Jr.