On April 29, the Yankees lost Jazz Chisholm Jr. to injury, a player who, although he was batting just .181, brought a lot of energy and offensive variety to the New York team with his dynamic play and explosiveness. It is true that in his absence of more than a month the Bronx Bombers won 18 of the 28 games they played, but they missed his spark
It was no surprise that he was welcomed with open arms from last Tuesday, when he gave the Yankees the lead with a home run against the Guardians. Since then, Chisholm has been a whirlwind in the middle of Aaron Boone’s lineup, with eight hits in 16 at-bats, a pair of home runs, six RBIs, three stolen bases and a 1.375 OPS
His power was felt on Friday in the opener of the American League classic between the Yankees and Boston, in which he took MVP honors after mercilessly punishing the Red Sox. Curiously, just at his hottest moment of the season, Chisholm Jr. declared that he was playing at 70%, a statement that has caught the attention of none other than Aaron Judge
A countercultural mindset
It seems crazy that a top-level athlete can achieve relevant results without giving his best on the field, but that is precisely the strategy that is now paying off for Jazz Chisholm Jr., who was reinstated to the Yankees’ discipline after missing a month of the season with a right oblique strain
“Going 70% is what’s working for me,” the 27-year-old infielder said Friday to the surprise of reporters interviewing him at Yankee Stadium. “It’s a mentality thing. On the home run, I was trying to hit a line drive to center field, a jt. I wasn’t even trying to hit a home run. That’s why I was so excited when I got to first base: I thought, ‘70% is enough to be a great baseball player.'”
“70% is enough to be a great baseball player”
Chisholm’s formula has caught the attention of some of his peers, who are not entirely convinced that he is not trying his hardest
“If it’s 70%, it doesn’t seem like it. It’s fun to watch him play and it’s fun to be his teammate. In his mind, it might be 70%. But what I think everyone in this locker room loves and respects about him is that every night it seems like he’s playing with his hair on fire,” said shortstop Anthony Volpe, who has been hitting right behind Chisholm
A different approach was offered by captain Aaron Judge, whose mentality does not fit with less effort, although he recognizes that the strategy could work for others. “When you go out to Yankee Stadium, the adrenaline is flowing. It’s about slowing down and taking a calm, relaxed approach. I feel like that’s what I saw tonight (with Chisholm), even on the home run swing to center field. He was on second base, and it looked like he just did calm and relaxed to a tough curveball,” said the slugger, the best hitter in Major League Baseball in 2025
Where does Chisholm Jr.’s strategy come from?
Jazz Chisholm Jr. had plenty of time to think and work since he was injured in late April. He used that period to click and change his mindset, so that he could perform better under the demands of the Bronx Bombers
One of the key men in his new strategy was Yankees offensive assistant Pat Roessler, who gave him some advice to improve his approach. “Don’t force it, slow it down,” the coach told him, who took an even more radical step to open the Bahamian descendant’s eyes: “At 70% you’re one of the best. At 100%, you could be… trash,” he said
The adjustment has worked well for Chisholm, although he will now have to be careful that this is not an ephemeral passage, something that already happened to him earlier this year. In his first six games of the current season, he achieved a high OPS of 1.162 with four home runs and eight RBIs in just 24 official at-bats. However, in his next 24 games he collapsed: a .143 batting average, nine RBIs and six extra-base hits in 98 plate appearances
It remains to be seen whether his 70% effort mentality will work for him to continue to perform at the highest level with the Yankees.
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