TAMPA, Fla. -- Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s packing list for Spring Training and the upcoming World Baseball Classic looks a little different than most.
The Yankees infielder never travels without his portable studio, allowing the artist known as Prince Jazz to lay down a track whenever inspiration strikes. He’s been busy in that lane already this spring, but he’s chasing records of a different sort, too.
Yes, as you might have heard, Chisholm isn’t just aiming for 40-40. Look out, Shohei Ohtani -- Chisholm believes he has 50-50 potential.
“I just can’t help but get that gut feeling -- it’s going to be an amazing year,” Chisholm said on Thursday. “Especially with [Aaron] Judge pushing me ever since I’ve gotten here, I feel like I’ve matured a lot in the game, just from watching him and his at-bats every day, watching the way he goes about it.
“That’s how I’m trying to go about it every day, and I feel like I have been this offseason. So that’s why I feel like my year is going to be so magical, because I’m following that guy.”
Around this time last year, Chisholm created his own metric -- HR+SB, combining home runs and stolen bases. He challenged Judge with it all season long, with Judge (65) narrowly edging his teammate (62).
“He’s just a complete athlete,” Judge said. “He’s a guy that can dictate a game with one swing or even one play on defense.”
There’s no shame in finishing second to a three-time American League MVP. Chisholm still made history, belting 31 homers with 31 stolen bases, joining Bobby Bonds (1975) and Alfonso Soriano (2002, ’03) as the only Yankees in the 30-30 club.
Chisholm believes that better health is all that kept him from 40-40 -- and beyond. He plans to cut down on strikeouts and draw more walks, and believes that gearing up earlier to represent Great Britain in the WBC will help sharpen that plate discipline.
“I worked hard this offseason,” he said. “I did what I had to do. I was in the gym a little bit earlier than I’m normally in there. And with the ABS system coming -- I think since I hit home runs, people think I’m 6-foot-3 in the box. I stand kind of straight up. So that’s going to help a lot for me.”
It was also an eventful winter off the field. Chisholm got engaged to singer and social media personality Ahnalys Santiago during what he called an “amazing” Christmas trip to Finland, where he saw the northern lights for the first time.
Though his name appeared in trade rumors throughout the winter, Chisholm said he tuned most of that out, leaving the business side to his representatives. He’s set to earn $10.2 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and can become a free agent after the season.
“Every year, I just want to win MVP,” he said. “It’s all the same. The money, the contracts, none of that really means anything if I don’t win MVP. In my head, I can make as much money as I want. But if I don’t have the MVP, I’m not going to be satisfied.”
While there have been no extension talks with the Yankees, Chisholm has made it clear that he would love to remain in pinstripes.
“The atmosphere in New York, the way the fans are super passionate day in and day out -- who doesn’t want to be in front of that for the rest of their career?” he said. “You walk down the street and a random guy or girl can tell you your stats. The amount of love for baseball in the city just equals how much I love baseball.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he senses Chisholm is “in a really good frame of mind.”
“He’s incredibly confident, and for good reason,” Boone said. “The bottom line is, if he goes out there and does his thing -- and hopefully keeps even improving in this game -- he’s going to put himself in a really good position come the end of the season.”
So while Boone may smirk when Chisholm pounds his chest, predicting that he’s about to win MVP, Silver Slugger and a World Series ring, the manager also knows better than to throw cold water on the suggestion.
“We’ll be in a good spot if he does,” Boone said. “It’s hard to put a ceiling on him. He went 30-30 last year and missed a month, and didn’t run for two months. So he’s capable of some special things between the lines.”