Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., acquired from the Marlins before the trade deadline, takes a swing at some pennant-race Q&A from Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: It seems like you’re born to play in New York.
A: I think I was born to play in New York. … I feel like because the lights are bright, and I feel like when it’s shining the brightest and when it’s more pressure, it feels a little bit better I play.
Q: Where does that fearlessness come from?
A: I feel like just always wanting to do it. You know, as a kid, I used to dream about playing in a World Series with all the lights flashing. … Like, I like modeling, I love being in fashion shows, acting, I like doing all that type of stuff, so wherever cameras are and stuff like that, I always loved it, so I feel like the cameras are bigger here and they’re brighter here.
Q: Why would you buy a ticket to watch Jazz Chisholm Jr. play baseball?
A: I would buy it because you’re always going to see happiness, you’re always going to see someone having fun, and he’s going to bring excitement, like he’s going to make you excited to see what’s going to happen next, or you don’t even know what he’s going to do next. He could probably go steal a bag without the pitcher even letting go of the ball. … He’s going to run the bases like it’s his last time playing baseball. He’s going to play defense hard every time. You don’t know, he’s a small guy, but he might hit a ball 450 feet, 460 feet, you never know what to expect.
Q: Are you the most exciting player in baseball?
A: If I was to look at it, it’s me and a couple of guys I feel like can compete for that title for sure.
Q: Who are the others?
A: Shohei Ohtani … Elly De La Cruz … Aaron Judge. Those are very exciting people to watch — especially Ohtani, he goes out there, he hits 50 homers and then goes and throws 100 and shutout … that’s amazing. … You got Captain, my captain over here [Judge], he could go out there and hit 60 homers a year (laugh), like, on average almost. It’s like every day you expect to see a ball go out of the ballpark between him and [Giancarlo] Stanton and [Juan] Soto. You come and watch the Yankees, that’s what you expect.
Q: Are you going to make a pitch to keep Soto as a Yankee?
A: (Laugh) I mean, I want to be a Yankee forever, too. Soto, I would love to be playing with him for the rest of my career.
Q: So what would your pitch be to him?
A: We’re here together, brother! (laugh)
Q: You might end up playing second base down the road.
A: I don’t know. Let’s say we win a championship and we keep Soto ***** and ***** Gleyber [Torres].
Q: But you’re OK playing …
A: Third base for the rest of my career? Yeah, I’ll be fine.
Q: Can you win a Gold Glove at third?
A: I feel like I could win a Gold Glove anywhere, honestly, if I stay there and I learn the position. … Like I go a whole offseason of just trying to learn that position, I definitely feel like I can win a Gold Glove.
Q: Describe your on-field mentality.
A: I just feel like my mentality is just enjoying it. Like, it’s a winning mentality, it’s never like a losing mentality. It’s always, no matter what’s happening, we can always come back, or we can always win this game. I’ve seen teams come back down from 10 in baseball and win a game. It’s very hard, but it’s not impossible.
Q: What drives you?
A: Winning. And seeing other guys that want to win with me. That makes me go and play better, especially when they believe in me, too. When the guys believe in me, and I’m around a winning mentality and culture, I feel like that drives me the most.
Q: How would you describe what you’re like off the field?
A: I just feel like you just got to look at me on the field you could tell how I am off the field, like I’m the same way. I’m just laughing all day, smiling, telling jokes, dancing. That’s just me off the field.
Q: Favorite tattoo?
A: It’s this home run right here. This is a home run against a lefty. It was like a big news going around saying I wasn’t good at hitting lefties, and it’s when it first started, I think I was going to be an All-Star [2022], or I was already voted in to be an All-Star first go-around, and I think I was leading the league in homers too at the time right before I got hurt and had that season-ending injury. Everybody was just saying how I was terrible against lefties or whatever, and then kind of the next two games I go like 4-for-7 against the lefties with like two doubles, a single and a homer in the upper deck at Marlins Park.
Q: Do the doubters motivate you?
A: Yes. I love it (smile). I love when people doubt me. Even my coaches, they said the best way to coach me is tell me I can’t do it.
Q: You’ve been told that all along?
A: All my life. As a kid I was told I wouldn’t hit home runs. As a kid I was told I wasn’t fast. My dad was fast. My dad was supposed to be in the Olympics, but he got hurt when he was going to the qualifiers.
Q: What is the biggest adversity you’ve overcome?
A: 2016 was my first year, I was 17, 18 years old coming into rookie ball, and I was an All-Star and I was the youngest there, and I ran into a few coaches that didn’t really like me at all, ’cause I was like always having fun and goofing around … used to laugh around in practice and not really pay attention in practice, but I would always do my work. But I would never really take it too seriously because I never wanted it to be a job. And some coaches just told me I’d never make it anywhere, like, I wouldn’t be anything and all that stuff. I feel like 2017 came around, this was the year that they were telling me, “Oh, well you’re going to be in A-ball now, you’re not going to be facing guys straight out of college anymore, you’re going to have guys with some time,” and I got hurt within a month into the season, it was like season-ending surgery on my knee. And the next year, they were just all talking the whole spring training like, “Oh, well you’re not going to do this now da da da.” I was supposed to be the No. 1 prospect but I was like the No. 3 after that or No. 5 or something after that. And the season started, and I still talk to him to this day, I had a hitting coach, Franklin Stubbs, and I said: “Watch what I’m going to do this year. I’m going to hit 30 home runs and I’m going to steal 30 bags, and I don’t want nobody to talk to me ever again about my talent.” And I did it.
Q: You play with joy and have fun, but inside, I get the feeling you’re a stone-cold assassin. Am I right?
A: 100 percent. … I mask it well. … My little brother always tells me I always find something like … he always says, like you know that [Michael] Jordan and Kobe [Bryant] thing, like, “Oh, that guy did something to me, so I’m going to go and get him.” I kind of do that a little bit, too. Like, I have that. I don’t know where it comes from, because nobody in my family’s like that. But I have to make something more than it is.
Q: So you have like an inner Mamba mentality.
A: Yeah. (smile). I’ve definitely been under Kobe’s, like … been watching him all my life, and like all that.
Q: Your grandmother, Patricia Coakley, is a former Bahamas national team shortstop. How does she feel about you being a Yankee?
A: She likes it, but she was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. In the Bahamas, I always tell everybody, the only channels we get are the New York channels. So we don’t even get the Florida channels. So we have YES Network and all that stuff, so when it was the Brooklyn Dodgers she was always a fan, and then when they moved to L.A., she was like, “OK, I’m an L.A. Dodger fan.” We always grew up watching the Yankees, so that’s why she still loves it no matter what.
Q: Does Grammy Pat call you before and after every game?
A: Mostly after. And if I don’t answer, she’s going to send a long text (laugh). A long text or a long voicemail.
Q: And she’s still critiquing you?
A: Oh man. I try not to listen to the critiques because I’ll be like, “Man, I understand already. I know.”
Q: What was your relationship with Derek Jeter?
A: I feel like we had a kind of a big brother-little brother relationship going on when we were over in Miami. Quick story about me wearing No. 2. So my favorite number is 3.
Q: Why is that?
A: I grew up watching [Ken] Griffey [Jr.] when he was wearing 3, [Alex Rodriguez] was wearing 3 at the same time, and they were competing and playing with each other and they were the MVPs. When I used to switch-hit, I used to hit like A-Rod on the right, and I used to hit like Griffey on the left. So both of them wore 3, I wore 3. My stepdad just showed me my 11-year-old uniform. I was wearing No. 13. That’s 2009. A-Rod, playing for the Yankees, wearing 13. That’s why I wore 13 that year.
Q: So you’re not superstitious?
A: No I’m not. It’s just that I got here and 13 was available, and A-Rod said he likes that I wore 13, so I’m with it.
Q: Do you miss McDonald’s every day?
A: No, I don’t miss McDonald’s every day. Actually someone tried to tempt me to eat McDonald’s with them the other day, and I did not do it (smile).
Q: What did you used to have all the time there?
A: I just loved the fries. I’d get a large fry and some nuggets or something like that, nothing crazy. But I loved the fries every day, fries with sweet and sour sauce every day.
Q: Now you have a personal chef?
A: Yeah, I have a chef.
Q: How much of a difference has that made?
A: I haven’t dropped in weight how I would in the past. I would come to spring training at like 187 pounds, and then I would drop to like 176 during the season. This year I haven’t dropped below 180. I think right now I’m at 185. So having that personal chef really has helped me out a lot.
Q: You were stabbed once?
A: As a kid, yeah. … I was like 14.
Q: What happened?
A: It was just playing basketball in the wrong areas in the Bahamas. We were just kids, but everywhere has their bad areas. That’s where I kind of grew up, so it wasn’t really anything really surprising. But, I would say I learned from it a lot, and learned how much like no matter where you are in life, you still have people that are jealous and will try and do some stuff.
Q: Where were you stabbed?
A: In my arm [right forearm].
Q: Did you go to the hospital?
A: It wasn’t that bad. More like a slice.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Kobe Bryant, Ken Griffey Jr., Barack Obama.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: Disney “Hercules.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Jamie Foxx.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Meagan Good.
Q: Favorite entertainer?
A: Don Toliver.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Oxtail with peas and rice.
Q: Favorite New York City things?
A: The lights. Just the city lights.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: The thing I’m most proud of is that I feel like everybody expected me to mess up by now, in a lot of ways. And the thing that I’m most proud of is that I haven’t. I’ve always kept the right image, always stayed right to the kids. Everybody expected me to change the person that I am, and I’m just happy that I haven’t. You know like they say money changes a person and stuff like that. I’m just happy that I’m still the person that I am. Every time a kid says my name, I turn around and I look and I wave back.
Q: What are your personal goals?
A: To win a championship. Right now that’s my only goal in mind right now is to go win this World Series.
Q: Is this team capable of doing it?
A: I think this team is the team that’s going to do it. I think that we put our mindset to it, this team is unstoppable with any team we face.
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