Yankees manager Aaron Boone defended second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on April 14 after a fielding mistake contributed to the team’s latest loss.
The incident took place during the bottom of the 10th inning in Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, when a bobble by Chisholm allowed Tampa Bay’s Chandler Simpson to score the winning run. The Yankees had positioned five infielders, hoping for a double play or forceout at home with bases loaded and the score tied at four.
After the game, Chisholm discussed his decision-making process with reporters and said, “I don’t know what the rule is.” Boone addressed this comment by saying, “He’s not confused. I think that’s his kind of default answer when he’s got [reporters] in front of him.” Boone added, “He’s not a dumb guy. It’s just sometimes how you present yourself in certain situations, and coupled with he’s off to a little bit of a slow start.”
Boone further analyzed the play: “It turns out to be a tough play. Watching it back, there might have been a chance, if he gets it cleanly, he gets the tag off. It’s hard to know how exactly DÃaz reacts in the moment. Once it chops like that, you know it’s obviously going to be a tough one to turn the normal 4-6-3.”
The Yankees began their Monday night matchup against the Angels on a five-game losing streak following their sweep by Tampa Bay over the weekend. Despite hitting .179 with an OPS of .501 through 15 games this season—after recording a 30-30 season last year—Chisholm has performed well defensively at second base with +2 outs above average.
