NEW YORK – A day after he was ejected in the sixth inning against the Red Sox, Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. acknowledged he should have a calmer demeanor when dealing with umpires.
On Sunday night at Fenway Park, Chisholm was upset that home-plate umpire Adam Hamari did not ask for help from third-base umpire Clint Vondrak in evaluating a checked swing, as Chisholm was ruled to have offered at Sonny Gray’s inning-ending curveball. A few minutes later, Chisholm was ejected by first-base umpire Todd Tichenor after slamming his batting helmet to the ground.
Even after looking at the video Monday, Chisholm did not think he swung at the pitch. But he said, “I have to do better and stay in the game.”
During the game, former Yankees teammate and NBC analyst Anthony Rizzo criticized Chisholm for his actions, saying he “has to be smarter there” and that it “shows a little bit of immaturity.”
Chisholm wasn’t aware of Rizzo’s comments until the local media informed him. Chisholm wasn’t upset.
“What, he played [14] years in the big leagues? He is entitled to his opinion,” Chisholm said.
The Yankees are going through a rough patch, having lost seven of their past nine games, including a four-game sweep to the Red Sox. According to Chisholm, no one would ever know what the team was going through if they entered the clubhouse.
“Guys coming here every day trying to work even when we are winning. Or if we are losing, they come in here with superintensity, super focus,” Chisholm said. “Honestly, it feels like how we were from Day 1 when we were winning, when we were still trying to blow everybody out of the water.”