NEW YORK -- Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s Yankees teammates have learned that their lockers are now community spaces. On any given day, the infielder may be spotted helping himself to one of their bats, a loose-fitting pair of pants, or any T-shirt that catches his eye.
At least they don’t need to worry about Chisholm borrowing one of their protective cups.
One day after being struck in the groin by a ricochet of his foul ball, forcing his fourth-inning exit from the Yankees’ 5-1 loss to the White Sox, Chisholm claimed that he has never worn a cup as a professional and has no plans to begin doing so.
“I’m not going to change,” Chisholm said. “That was just an unlucky instance right there. I’ve never had a reason to wear one. Now I have a reason to wear one -- but that doesn’t mean I’m going to wear one.”
Chisholm seemed in good spirits as he returned to the lineup on Friday, teeing off for a second-inning homer off the Reds' Rhett Lowder -- Chisholm’s 11th of the season.
He certainly wasn’t on Thursday, when he chopped a 2-2 pitch foul against Chicago’s Sean Burke, then writhed in agony at home plate for several minutes as head athletic trainer Tim Lentych attended to him.
Chisholm described his pain level at the time as being “like a million.”
“If you ever got hit in the testicles, you would know,” he said.
It’s not unheard of for modern players to eschew protective cups -- Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltré, for example, famously said he didn’t use one.
Told of that fact, Chisholm replied, “See, he trusts his hands.”
Beltré, it should be noted, was sidelined for weeks late in the 2009 season when his luck ran out on an Alexei Ramirez one-hopper. He briefly wore one upon returning from the injured list, then played without it for the rest of his career.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he isn’t about to patrol the clubhouse issuing “cup checks” like a junior varsity coach, saying, “Not my department.”
But count Boone among those who, in his playing days, insisted upon a little insurance.
“In December, going to hit soft toss, I’d put a cup on,” he said. “That’s the difference between this generation and my generation. I did nothing without a cup, baseball-related. The first time I heard Adrian Beltré didn’t wear a cup at third, it blew my mind. Now I know a lot of these guys don’t wear cups.
“Literally, if we were going out for team pictures and I was getting dressed, I’d say, ‘Hold on, I’ve got to put my cup on.’ It’s different now. They’re playing on some pretty nice fields.”
Chisholm said that even though cups were required in the Minors, he never wore one.
“I’m just not a cup guy,” he said. “If you don’t trust your hands, I recommend you wear a cup.”
That revelation stunned catcher J.C. Escarra, who chimed in by referencing a quote from Adam Sandler’s 2005 remake of “The Longest Yard”:
“You’ve got to always protect the McNuggets.”